Country Farm Stand/ Fried Green Tomatoes Recipe

My sister and I stopped at a country roadside farm stand today. I love the sight and smell of all those colorful fruits and vegetables - all natural, organic, straight off the vine! Here's a sampling of what we saw:

Baskets and baskets of ripe, juicy tomatoes

 ...and more tomatoes

Heirloom "Cherokee Purple" tomatoes

Peppers....

and more peppers!

Green tomatoes

Fried green tomatoes are a traditional southern dish. Although I was raised in northern Ohio, my parents were from the south, so I grew up eating them. They weren't one of my favorites as a child, but later in life, I started to appreciate their tart crispiness. There's definitely a "trick" to getting them just right and my Mom's were the best! I confess - I've never made them myself, but I bought some green tomatoes at the market today and I'm going to try it. I'll let you know how they turn out! For now...here's a picture of how they're suppose to look and my Mom's original recipe. Fried Green Tomatoes aren't exactly diet fare, but served as a side dish with other southern favorites like green beans and ham and cornbread ~ ah, a little peice of Heaven!

If you can, use fine white cornmeal, which is the primary cornmeal used in the South. Buttermilk adds flavor and tang, but is optional, as regular milk works just as well. 

Ingredients:

• 3 medium, firm green tomatoes
• Dash of salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

 Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle the slices with a little salt.  Place the flour a in separate shallow bowl. Then combine the bread crumbs and cornmeal in a separate bowl and the egg and buttermilk (or milk) in another bowl.

Heat the oil in a skillet on medium high heat (you want the oil pretty hot.) Beat the egg and the buttermilk together. Dip tomato slices in the flour, then buttermilk-egg mixture, then the cornmeal-bread crumb mix (some people use cornmeal only and skip the bread crumbs.) In the skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 3-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Set the cooked tomatoes on paper towels to drain. Enjoy!