I was mired in indecision for this year’s VOY. Unlike the 2011 winner, the sexy, blushing, bulbous radish, this year lacked the superstar vegetable that knocked our socks off. I couldn’t decide so I made a list of prior winners to stimulate some thought.
2004 Fava Beans
2005 Delicata squash
2006 Cauliflower
2007 Brussel Sprouts
2008 Fennel
2009 Kale
2010 Sugar snap peas
2011 Radish
Ms. Orme’s 3rd period class recommended the sturdy potato, but despite my Irish roots, I could only recall one potato dish from the summer. It was wonderful; we roasted potatoes from our garden on the grill. I’d grown them from a bag of sprouting fingerlings I discovered one morning in the cabinet.
But that got me thinking of another vegetable that grew despite the odds. Maybe vegetable of the year doesn’t have to be the hot, sexy now vegetable. Maybe, VOY can be the girl next door who suddenly blossoms overnight. That’s it! The 2012 Vegetable of the Year is…
Teardrop Yellow Tomatoes
We had bought some expired seeds for teardrop tomatoes and planted them on a whim. They grew like gangbusters thanks to Dan’s drip irrigation system. I can’t provide a recipe because they can do anything. We halve them into our salad, make caprese with basil and mozarella, roast them with cauliflower, and add them to green bean salad (blanched and chilled green beans tossed with tomatoes, feta, red onion, and red wine vinaigrette.) Or, you can make a mean simple pasta like my Sicilian friend Morena, blistering the tomatoes with 4-5 cloves of garlic and oil until they spill their guts into a juicy sauce. Enjoy!
