For the past four weeks or so, a lot of real estate in our kitchen has been taken up by tomatoes. Sometime around the first of the month, I pulled everything that looked like it was going to ripen off the vine, afraid that Portland’s dreaded winter rains were imminent (And here we are, October 21, not a 70 and not a cloud in the sky). Despite a weird planting and picking pattern, we ended up with a great crop of tomatoes. though almost all of them were green when I picked them, almost all of them ripened, giving us somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-25 lbs. of ripe tomatoes.

As of this weekend, they were getting to be VERY ripe. Something had to be done! There’s nothing I love more than a very ripe heirloom tomato, but soon my perfect tomatoes would become goo unless we acted fast. So this weekend, we put the rest up in the form of four pints of a deliciously spicy salsa and four pints of canned whole tomatoes. The salsa recipe can come later – it is definitely a winner and so much better than my first canning endeavor from two years ago.

But we didn’t put all of them up…

We also made it a point to eat as many as possible fresh, because that is the best possible way to eat a tomato (especially a home grown one). Some of our family members suggested a tomato and avocado salad (Hi Bunny and V!) and Dave had the great idea of adding sesame flavors to the mix (we Hubbards are a great team). Overall, it turned out to be a delicious experiment that we’ll definitely try again.

Here’s what you need:
1 ripe avocado
lime juice
2 medium ripe heirloom tomatoes
2 Tbsp. diced shallot
2 tsp. olive oil
A few drops of sesame oil
Kosher salt
Black and white sesame seeds – maybe 1 tsp. total

Cut the avocado into cubes and toss with enough lime juice to very lightly coat so the fruit doesn’t brown (maybe a teaspoon?). Prepare the tomato and shallot and move all three items to a bowl.

Add in the olive oil, sesame oil and a pinch of salt and toss VERY gently, so your avocado doesn’t turn to mush. Plate, and then garnish with sesame seeds.