Dry-farmed tomatoes

On the very last day of the San Carlos farmers' market (Hot Harvest nights are a sadly limited season), I found the one item that will haunt me over the winter. My favorite organic farm stand (which has the loveliest strawberries in late spring and early summer, and gorgeous sunflowers for months) discreetly displayed a small table of brilliantly red tomatoes (next to the assortment of typically mottled-looking heirlooms). Labelled "dry-farmed Early Girls," they made me pause and think twice. Picking one up, it felt dense and a little tough-skinned, compared to the delicate heirloom tomatoes.

Handing my selection of modest-sized reds to the vendor, I asked about the dry-farming aspect. She said the fruit is super-flavorful, because no extra water suffuses the flesh in the way we are accustomed to seeing in irrigated varieties. Which is why, she added, "They have a cult following."

In a land of foodies and culinary fashion trends, the popularity of one varietal does not impress me much. But one bite converted me to a follower. As Basha described the experience, "This is the tomato of my childhood." They have the intense, sweet tomato-ness of her uncle's kitchen garden at his farm near Joliet, Illinois (before the new Federal highway system bisected the property). Not satisfied to wait til next summer, we are searching for them at several year-round markets nearby. A worthy quest.