You know what this is, right?
It’s our first tomato of the season, plucked from our very own garden, just in time for a Memorial Day lunch of this year’s first tomato sandwich. Can I get an AMEN!? That little slit to the right is where I was about to slice into this beauty, before I remembered to share.
Slathered mayo on my fave Italian bread from Publix, lots of salt and pepper and it’s quite the treat.
You gotta have some potato chips too, just to make it complete.
And it was as completely delicious as it looks.
Oh, let’s not forget about the blackberries for dessert, plucked from our vines yesterday morning and just enough for this…..
Dessert baked up in my yardsale red bunny terrine.
Blackberry Crisp (recipe here) for deux. What is better than that?
Unless of course, you add in a couple scoops of Blue Belle Vanilla frozen yogurt.
Sorry if I made you drool! 
I totally wouldn’t do that on purpose.
{Added to Emily’s Tuesdays Unwrapped} and {Jen’s Tasty Tuesday}
{ 47 comments… read them below or add one }
One of the things I missed most living in Seattle were red, ripe, fresh off the vine tomatoes. They just don’t have the hot nights that tomatoes need to ripen correctly. Truly nothing better than a tomato pulled off the vine, sprinkled with a little salt and then taking a big bite. So well worth the juice running down your chin!
Oh Rhoda, that all looks so good! What a perfect looking tomato! I can’t wait for mine to be ready. My little grape ones are just now getting red. Nothing better than a caprese salad, tomato, basil and mozzarella!
Well I’m drooling, it’s early, I got home late from Charleston yesterday, so tired I didn’t even eat dinner. Looks like you garden is doing well. Thanks for sharing. I would love for you to stop by and enter my giveaway.
Sandy
What time should I be there for leftovers? Ha! We were a little late planting our garden this year, but there’s nothing like fresh vegetables right from your own back yard!
xoxo,
Kim
Yet more reasons to live in the South. Publix and vine ripe tomatoes in May. I’m so jealous.
Omg…you are killing me I’m hungry for lunch…I’ll one of everything and throw some lemonade in there too!
WHAT! I am sooooooo jealous. I just planted my tomato plants yesterday. They are about 3 inches tall. I was thrilled to do it. I’ll get some by the end of August. Sigh………… New England is lovely but the growing season is too short.
Oh my goodness, Rhoda, I’m completely envious!! It’s too early here for such beauties, we’ll need a month or so. Hope you enjoyed your weekend!
Yumm-a-licious!!!!! So glad you enjoyed!
Rhoda…..you are hilarious! And we didn’t get pretty tomatoes like that out of our garden and since we don’t live too far away, I want to know what kind of magic is in that dirt up the hill??
Hey, Debra, he’s been working on our little garden every year & I think this year is going to be the best for our tomatoes too. You’re welcome to stop by & take a peek. He does fertilize them & we’ve been putting scraps out on the pile to compost the dirt more, so it seems to be working. We actually have some good dirt in part of our yard too.
I’m jealous! We’re farther north than you, so my mom and husband compete to have a tomato by my birthday (July 1) every year. I don’t really care who wins–it’s a win/win situation for me. I will eat tomatoes every day until I pop (last year was 77 days in a row). Can’t wait for tomato season!
Rhoda, that sure does look good and I am jealous. I wish we had tomatoes. We wait for people to start giving them to my husband at work. Hopefully soon. I just love a good ole drippy tomato sandwich. I love that Publix bread, too. Enjoy yours and I will just wait on mine.
Good morning Rhoda…that tomato looks fabulous. We have green ones , so far.
I am growing basil this year and made Caprese Salad, yesterday. Can’t wait till the tomatoes are ripe. I know that salad will be so much better when made from our own tomatoes and basil.
We usually get out first real tomato around the 4th of July…blackberries are ready by then too. I should go have a look at the vines. We don’t have tame blackberries but we do have some very nice wild blackberries down by the creek and our neighbor, the farm behind us, has blackberries along the fence row. J has permission to pick those berries too. Cannot wait!
Mmm, I love a tomato sandwich! I’m having to wait unfortunately b/c all my plants died after I planted them so I had to start over.
I just noticed my first buds yesterday, so I’m counting down the days to my tomatoes!
Hubby bought a few BIG plants this year, to get a head start on tomatoes, so that’s why we have them so early this year. They were already 1/2 grown when he planted them! The other ones will be far behind in producing, but at least this way we may have them coming in till frost (I hope!).
Tomatoes already? Ok I see you guys bought half grown plants, now I’m not as jealous!!! Everything looks so yummy! Posted about our garden today too……
Yum!!! Your post has reminded me that I need to get outside and stake my tomatoes today!
Oh, I am so darn jealous. We JUST planted last week since we are over in the Midwest and I won’t see the fruits of our labor until July. It is a LONG wait. It all looks so delicious!
Yum!! I am a first time gardener this year. I’m crossing my fingers that something (anything?) will grow. Not sure if that will happen since my little boys like to dig to see “what is happening” daily!
Hoping that I’ll have a great post on my salsa garden later this summer…I’ll just admire your harvest in the meantime!
A tomato sandwich on rye bread with salt and vinegar potato chips is my all time favorite meal. Love me some summertime tomatoes!
So yummy! A tomato sandwich=summer in the South. I will always think of my grandmother when I eat a tomato sandwich . She was always eating a tomato sandwich with Duke’s mayo on white bread. Mmmm….hopefully our tomatoes will be ripe soon!
Seriously! on Whole Grain Bread? My goodness! Everyone knows that tomato sandwiches need to be made on plain old white bread, preferably Wonder Bread with Helmann’s Mayo.
Ha-ha! I don’t DO white bread unless it’s sourdough or French baguette. You won’t see Wonder bread at my house ever! Good bread just makes those tomato sandwiches even more yummy to me.
Haha! But you can’t smush sourdough or a baguette together the way you can white bread. (( I don’t usually do Wonder Bread either .. just with tomato sandwiches. ))
I need some tomatoes!
I’m drooling here! ha! The sandwich and the crisp look delicious!
Rhoda, what’s your fave Italian bread from Publix? I’ll finally be near a Publix in 2 weeks (on vacation–in FL), and want to get some–it looks so yummy! I don’t have a Publix near me until I go on vacation once a year.
) So, if its as good as you say, I will buy some to bring home and maybe freeze for later in the summer. 
)
Carole, it’s the 5 grain Italian, yummy bread in the bakery dept. I love the Italian 5 grain WHEAT, but they usually run out of that before I can get it. It’s my very fave, but the regular is good too.
Oh my you surely got me drooling, oh that Tomato is gorgeous, where do you live you have them already, mine are about potato size and green, oh cannot wait to taste our first one too. Thank you for sharing, and getting my hopes up of having one real soon. Hugs Blessings,
Barbara, we are in Birmingham, AL. Hubby planted some mature tomato plants this year, so we could reap the bounty earlier. So glad he did.
Mmmmmmmm. Drooling right now. They both look amazing !!!!!
xoxo
Kate
Oh, yummy! We are anxiously awaiting that first sun ripened tomato. The plants are coming along, so it shouldn’t be too long.
I love tomato sandwiches!!! So much so that I did a post about them a few weeks ago. How I envy you that your tomatoes are ripe already. It will be weeks before we have any here, it’s been so cold until just a couple of days ago. And blackberries, ah what can be better??
Love,
Susan and Bentley
xxoo
Oh, that looks sooooo good! Just love a hot off the vine tomato sandwich w/ salt and pepper and mayo! Hope you can visit my blog sometime too. Thx….Lynn
This is killing me because it’s lunchtime here, and all I have is a peanut butter sandwich! No fair!
Wow! First tomato! You should see my sad little plants up here in WA state……. It will be a good 6 weeks before I have tomatoes! Looks yummy!
All right, that’s it…I’m packing my bags and leaving Maine behind. I won’t have tomatoes like this until late summer. The simple pleasures like tomato sandwiches are just the best ones.
Alison
Oh man…. That’s the best looking tomato I’ve seen online for weeks! I’m so happy for you. We don’t even have any cherry tomatoes yet. Won’t be long, I hope!!
ButterYum
Mmm, mmm, mmm…..that looks SO yummy! I love me some good ole ‘mater sammiches’. :0) Your photography is amazing. Those blackberries almost look like pine cones when you first glance at them. LOL! I can’t wait for my first good tomato sandwich of the season!
Hope you’re having a great day!
Blessings,
Teresa <
Rhoda you are killing me with your fresh blackberry cobbler. That is my favorite. I am drooling, Yum!! Kathysue
*sigh* I’ve got another month at least up here in Wisconsin before our tomatoes are ready. Boo hoo. Feeling slightly envious over here.
Rhoda -
You are such a tease! Yes I am drooling! That tomato sandwich looks delicious. We don’t have any tomatoes in NJ yet. Are you selling them in your online shop?!
By the way, I love the new look and feel of your blog.
Your Friend,
Deborah
It’s 11:30 pm and you’ve got me wanting a tomato sandwich! Lol.
O.K., that’s it…I am moving to the South. August is when we can expect our first tomatoes, August! I just put mine into a pot and now will wait, and wait and wait…this Yankee girl is coming down for some lip smacking, delicious looking tomatoes! I am so jealous, since nothing is better than fresh from the garden tomatoes…except corn or maybe lettuce…oh yeah, now I know what you have that is the best, PEACHES. Set me a plate at the table honey, I’m on my way!
Yum! We had our first taste of our summer garden this weekend. Fresh basil and green beans! I’m going to pick some leaf lettuce today.
My tomato plants are still rather small. I LOVE home grown tomatos on a toast sandwich with miracle whip and bacon. makes my mouth water just thinking about them.
There is nothing like a sandwich with fresh from the garden tomatoes topped with lots of mayo & salt & pepper. I like to wrap mine up & then let it sit out a while to get it nice and mushy. I call it the mushy delight….yum..comfort food:-)
Thanks for your post!
Kathiey:-)