Fried Green Tomatoes

I wondered once, at the peak of tomato season, why anyone would sacrifice a perfectly good tomato by picking it green in order to make fried green tomatoes. Don't get me wrong. Fried green tomatoes are very tasty ... but an entirely different beast compared to juicy, red, ripe tomatoes fresh off the vine.

Maybe the invention of fried green tomatoes came about due to an abundance of fruit. Having lived through the seasons of a garden, however, I would find it more believable to discover that the idea of fried green tomatoes came about as a way to use up the stragglers at the end of the season ... those little green tomatoes that are as likely to rot as they are to ripen.  And if frost threatens, there's no choice.  Those tomatoes must be harvested.

Today, I cried, "Uncle!" I picked all the green tomatoes that linger on the remaining tomato plants. I uprooted the plants and pulled the stakes. It is the season. Fried green tomatoes will be on the menu this weekend. My favorite way to eat them?

• Slice the tomatoes - not too thick!
• Batter them as you like
• Fry them until golden brown
• Stack them ... alternating three tomato slices with two thin slices of smoked gouda cheese

That's gourmet!