Many ways to enjoy tomatoes, take your pick

This is the season of my obsession — tomato obsession, that is.

From panzanella, soup and bruschetta to salsa, sauces and juice, the uses for fresh tomatoes are endless. My imagination runs wild envisioning all the tasty dishes I can make with this fabulous fruit.

I've been waiting since December to re-stock my freezer with homemade sauce. The last batch was so good, I've been thinking about it more often than is probably technically healthy. But I figure if fantasizing about tomato sauce is among the worst of my vices, I'm probably OK.

Five minutes down the road from my home is Artesian Farms U-Pick. It's behind the Circle K at 2710 College Ave. E., Ruskin. The tomato fields open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. twice a year, once in May, and then again in November. From now through the middle of June there will be oodles of plum, grape and other varieties ripe for the picking.

It seems I'm not the only one with a tomato obsession.

"There's nothing like a homegrown tomato," said Terry Lattz of Ruskin, picking his own tomatoes during his fourth annual visit.

And Mary Ann Perkins, a lifelong South Shore resident, said she likes to fry the green ones, sometimes adding a slice of mozzarella to the top of it. Tomato sandwiches are a no-frills favorite of hers. She takes two pieces of bread spread with mayo and stuffs them generously with slices of ripe tomato.

"That's dinner!" she said.

It took me a whole 10 minutes to fill my five-gallon bucket. Since the tomatoes were the size of softballs, it was easy to do. Thirty minutes later I was in my kitchen up to my elbows making tomato sauce. By noon, my freezer was stocked with 12 quarts of the stuff, and I've already decided to head back for more in a couple of weeks.

I don't know about you, but tomatoes and fried anything are two of my favorite things. So I made sure I tossed in several green tomatoes into the bucket with my vine-ripened reds. Mmm ... fried green tomatoes.

A couple of caveats: If you go picking, remember to wear some old clothes and gloves, and be sure to wear sunscreen. You'll also need to bring your own bags to carry your tomatoes home.