Snow White and Alaska Fancy

What do Snow White and Alaska (Fancy) have in common? They're my new favorite tomatoes.

They taste as good as they look!

The Snow White tomato is a mild, sweet cherry type that starts out a creamy white and become more yellow in color as it matures. Good enough to eat like grapes. Alaska Fancy is a wonderful small variety (about 2-2.5 inches in diameter) that has a mellow, almost old-fashioned flavor. I created a delicious recipe (below) that this winner works well in.

I have my daughter, Molly, and her boyfriend, Aaron, to thank for these delightful garden morsels. When I visit my daughter in Kansas in the spring, I like to shop for herb and vegetable plants at a locally owned nursery there. Something about the veggies being greener on the other side of the state line, I guess.

This spring, they took me to a different nursery. One about 15 miles outside of town. I'd liked the one we'd gone to in the past and was a bit skeptical of the change. That is, until I saw the place!

The Vinland Valley Nursery is a vintage fanatic's fairytale come true. It's a charming hodge podge of outbuildings that have been added on to, decorated in kitschy fashion, added on to again, embellished some more. And, did I mention added on to? Best of all (besides the fabulous organically grown plants) was the landmark beside the driveway leading into the nursery. When we visited it was raining, so I didn't take pictures. Darn. But, you can see the landmark HERE. If you like vintage anything, it's worth a peek.

Now for my tomato salad. I use the Alaska Fancy or Flavorino tomatoes. But, any small (not grape or cherry) variety will work. This is also best with garden fresh green or candy onions and fresh basil (I use Thai or cinnamon basil from my garden, either of which are a nice complement to the sweeter tomatoes). Try this with dinner tonight:

Ann's Tomato Delight

6-8 small variety tomatoes, sliced thin

4-6 green or candy onions sliced

2Tbs olive oil (I use Sicilian flavored)
1Tbs chopped fresh basil
2Tbs bleu cheese (optional)
Sea salt and crushed black pepper to taste

Mix ingredients together and chill half an hour or more before serving.

 I serve this over baby arugula. Yum.
Bon Apetit.

Linking to:
An Oregon Cottage
Designs by Gollum
Ekat's Kitchen