Oh, hey, look, it's tomato season!

Yes, I know it’s Friday, which is usually Peeps’s domain, but he suggested that, since I’ll be with his mom this weekend (AGAIN) he could share Monday Musings, so I wanted to tell you about my latest and greatest tomato thing.

After all, it is tomato season, and, those of us who plant tomatoes know – it’s feast or famine.

I don’t like to buy tomatoes out of season – they’re expensive and not worth eating.  So. . . that means, when they’re in season, it’s all tomatoes, all the time.

You may have noticed this.

The other day, we enjoyed a Cooking Light recipe for grilled flank steak with fresh salsa – the flank steak was, beefy and good, like a flank steak should be, and the salsa was . . . also nice.

Quite simple, actually – nothing weird, which is good.

Makes it easier to reproduce.

So I diced enough tomatoes to add up to 2 cups, and I zested and squeezed a lime.

See, I figure, if I’m bothering to squeeze a fresh lime, I want LIME – so I add the zest, too.  I usually do the same with lemons too.  I’ve never regretted it – just saying.

We started out with a mess of diced tomatoes (2 cups), and add some diced red onion – about half a regular-sized onion, or less of one of those giant-sized onions.

I know I’m kind of playing fast and loose with the measurements here, but, seriously, it’s SALSA.  Not rocket science.

Tomatoes, onions, lime,  a bit of salt, crushed red pepper and cilantro (or not) (we opted for not), and it’s all good – you’ve got salsa.

And, since there were just the two of us, we had some leftover salsa, so I started thinking about what to do with it.

Do you know that tomatoes are actually fruit?

Which got me to thinking.

If tomatoes are a fruit, there’s really no good reason I can’t enjoy a nice tomato-fruit smoothie, is there?

Of course not.

So the first thing I did, was I took a bunch of the smaller tomatoes from my garden (and I’ve got big ones, small ones – I’ve got tomatoes in ALL SIZES!) – I took a bunch of small-ish tomatoes and I halved them and stuck them in the freezer.

See, I’ve found, over the years, that in order to make a successful smoothie – that is, a smoothie that’s actually enjoyable, and not just “good for you” – I like at least half of the fruit to be frozen.

Kind of gives you that “milk shake” vibe, I think.

So anyway, I took about a cup of my fresh salsa – that’s right, with the onions and everything – and a small-ish frozen tomato, chopped up a bit (or two, depending on how small they actually are), and I dumped them in my smoothie cup, along with a half cup of plain ol’ yogurt.

And then I took the stick blender to it.

It takes a little patience, but your patience will be rewarded.

Before you know it, you’ve got a smooth, frosty, tomato-y breakfast that will, indeed, start your morning out right.

And even though I can’t get a decent photo to save my life at 5:30 in the morning after walking TWO ridiculously huge dogs, trust me when I tell you – this is a fantastic breakfast.

And if you’re not sure about all tomatoes all the time – I’ve also used a frozen peach, along with the fresh tomato salsa, and, if possible, it’s even better.

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