heirloom tomatoes

don't knock heirloom tomatoes for their slight knobbiness and imperfections. these late-summertime delights are the real deal, the real products of nature before man intervened (not that i don't appreciate the varieties of produce hybridization has brough us). i was out grocery shopping this morning at my usual place for produce, the milk pail in mountain view. i was ecstatic to find crates and crates of my favorite summertime vegetable piled high and for only a buck ninety-nine a pound - it doesn't get much better than that. so remember to pick some of these up at your local farmer's market and even your local big-chain grocery store these days. allow them to fully ripen. slice them up and admire the unique winds and turns of juiciness these tomatoes offer. throw a simple vignaigrette over them and you'll soon find yourself thinking that there is not a more perfect tomato.

  *simple vignaigrette*2 tablespoons white wine vinegar1 tablespoon champange vinegar1 teaspoon dijon mustardmix ingredients together. whisk in 1/4 cup olive oil.  pour over sliced heirloom tomatoes and garnish with fresh basil.