Monday Check-In: Let’s Talk About Heirloom Tomatoes

Folks, it’s time to check in. Hope you all had lovely weekends.

On Friday evening, I decided I needed some sort of small indulgence to finish off a long week of work, and stopped by Zabar’s for a pint of Whiteface Mint Chip ice cream, fresh ground coffee to cold brew iced coffee overnight, and a baguette to eat on the way home ($11.94).

On Saturday, I put in some time to watch the Olympics, and then visited Kate’s Paperie to pick up some cards because everyone is suddenly birthing babies, celebrating their own births, or getting hitched ($33.15). I also dropped by Bed Bath and Beyond to stock up on some household items ($16.18), and renewed my subscription to the New Yorker ($39.95).

I woke up on Sunday morning with a huge craving for an open-face tomato sandwich, so I walked to the farmer’s market and bought three big heirloom tomatoes (pictured above: $11 — I know, but they’re totally worth it), and then stopped by the supermarket for ciabatta, basil, mozzarella, and a four-pack of maine root sarsaparilla ($22.22).

Open-face heirloom tomato sandwiches recipe, which isn’t really a cheap eats because heirloom tomatoes aren’t cheap:

Get a hearty loaf of bread — either a pullman loaf, or a crusty ciabatta, and cut into thick slices. Drizzle with olive oil. Slice your heirloom tomatoes any way you want them (you can dice them small as if you’re putting them on a crostini, or in thick, meaty slices, or somewhere in between like I did), and put them in a bowl with chopped basil, minced garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. I also added a squirt of Sriracha for an extra kick. Toss and let it marinate for 20 minutes. Place slices of bread on a pan, and drizzle with a little olive oil. Top with slices of mozzarella cheese. Top with heirloom tomato mixture. Put in oven at 350 degrees for 10 to fifteen minutes until cheese is gooey. Enjoy with sarsaparilla or your drink of choice. Thank yourself for buying two additional heirloom tomatoes.

Total Weekend Spending: $134.44

What was your weekend damage?

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