The first tomato of the season is a treasure that all of us impatient tomato worshippers yearn for, that first taste of a vine-ripened tomato, not from a greenhouse but from plants grown in the great big outdoors! It is a true marker of the arrival of the glorious Vermont summer. Juicy and sweet as candy, we all hope that they will grow in abundance each summer. Nothing compares to the locally grown tomato and it complements many foods so well! Tomatoes are very versatile. Some of my favorite ways to consume them are sliced with fresh basil and chives, and fresh mozzarella cheese (preferably from Vermont too), or in a salad with a small amount of greens, and last but not least, fresh salsa—all mouth-watering delicacies! Fresh tomato soup on a cool fall day is very tasty too—with plenty of fresh garlic, basil, and parsley, you couldn’t ask for more!