By Late May, Memorial Day weekend. I spent the three days working the farm with the kind of sustained focus that holiday weekends allow: the full garden cleanup, the cold frames disassembled and stored, the irrigation system set up for summer, the fencing on the east side of the property inspected and a section repaired. Jim came up on Saturday — just Jim, not Sarah or the boys, who had other plans — and we worked on the fence together for two days.
Jim and I work well together. We've established a rhythm over the years — he takes directions well and he gives them when he sees something I've missed. We don't talk much when we're working and we talk a lot when we're not, which is the right ratio. On Saturday evening I made a simple dinner: grilled steaks from the Hendersons, the first good corn of the season from a farm stand in the valley, a salad from the garden. We ate outside on the porch while the fireflies came on. He said: I like it here. I said: I know. He said: I'm glad you're still here. I took that in the full sense he meant it.
The rhubarb strawberry jam is done — the combination batch, both fruits overlapping in this brief window. Eight jars, more than last year. The cellar shelf is looking organized and full, which is the feeling I've been working toward since the maple season ended and the growing season began.
Teddy texted to say he made a beef bourguignon on his own, no call, no guidance. He sent a photo and a single sentence: I think I got it. The photo confirmed it.
The salad I mentioned — the one from the garden that Saturday evening — was nothing elaborate, and that was exactly the point. After two days of fence work and the kind of quiet companionship that doesn’t need much explaining, the meal called for restraint: good steaks, the first corn, and tomatoes sliced straight from the garden with just enough added to let them be what they were. A sliced tomato salad is one of those things that only works when the tomatoes are worth eating, and in late May, just barely, they were.
Sliced Tomato Salad
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 10 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 3 large ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, torn
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (optional)
Instructions
- Slice the tomatoes. Arrange sliced tomatoes in a single overlapping layer on a wide, shallow serving plate.
- Add the onion. Scatter the thinly sliced red onion evenly over the tomatoes.
- Dress the salad. Drizzle the olive oil and red wine vinegar over the top. Season with sea salt and black pepper.
- Finish with herbs. Scatter the torn basil (and thyme, if using) over everything just before serving. Let the salad sit for 5 minutes so the tomatoes absorb the dressing.
- Serve. Bring to the table at room temperature — do not refrigerate before serving, as cold dulls the flavor of ripe tomatoes.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 85 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 6g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 290mg