By Mark Videan
Maybe you are a green-thumbed garden wizard with decades of veggie growing experience. Or perhaps COVID-19 gave you the incentive to try planting for the first time this year.
Whatever your gardening background, now is the time to enjoy the fruits of your labors. Some of the most wonderful of these are tomatoes. Guy Clark’s song, (made famous by John Denver), summed it up nicely, “Only two things money can’t buy. That’s true love and homegrown tomatoes…”
Ripe and bursting with sweet, tangy juice, a tomato fresh from the garden is a thing of beauty, needing little embellishment. Perhaps a dash of salt, a grind or two of pepper? To truly display the wonders of these garden stars, we humbly recommend a cast of bread, bacon and lettuce in a production of “The BLT.”
The bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich became popular after World War II, when the ingredients became readily available year-round. The initials B.L.T. were shorthand when calling out orders in delis and gained popular use among consumers in the ’70s.
Over the years, many variations of the classic BLT have been invented. All recipes start with (some sort of) bread, lettuce, and tomato. Many add mayonnaise. Some toast the bread, delete the lettuce or even the tomato (sacrilege!), or add other supporting actors to the play. We reached out on Facebook, to ask how other directors stage their versions of “The BLT.”
“White or wheat toast with Miracle Whip.” – Tom L.
“Scallion cream cheese…on sourdough.” – Greg C.
“With peanut butter (on top of the bacon) mayo on the bottom slice. Sourdough is critical.” – Sarah M.
“Avocado, always. Also if you grill the bread, use mayonnaise instead of butter to get a nice crispy brown on your bread.” – Aubrey P.
“Italian bread, lots of Miracle Whip®, and no lettuce.” – Susan H.
“Add peanut butter, remove the lettuce and tomato…mmmmmm.” – Jacob W.
“Salt and vinegar potato chips and provolone cheese, minus the tomato.” – A. J. H.
“Avocado and arugula.” – Barb S.
“I like some onion, arugula and thousand island dressing. Sometimes a fried egg on top.” – Christine B.
“How about a TALL: tomato, avocado, bacon-flavored liverwurst and lettuce with mayo and a touch of mustard on toasted and buttered sourdough” – Ramona D.
Maybe these suggestions will inspire you to try something new in your BLT. Maybe not. Whatever you do, enjoy those fresh, ripe tomatoes while you can.
