About 7 years ago I had a small grape tomato plant in a planter on a side railing on my deck.  It yielded about a pint of tomatoes.  A few of them fell onto my side lawn and I never noticed till the next season....when a grape tomato plant the size of a small tree grew there, with no help or staking from me.  Now there is one in this sort of odd place in my front yard right next to my driveway every season, bigger and bigger each time.  I never do anything to help it along, but I always let enough tomatoes fall into the ground for next year.  Now I get pints and pints  and pints of grape tomatoes all season long and encourage neighbors to come and pick freely. They are often almost as big as romas. I picked my first batch last night.

If you are growing grape or cherry tomatoes, you know it can be hard to adapt them into basic recipes.  You can only toss them into so many salads before you get sick of them that way. Here is a nice brushcetta recipe I adapted from an old Food and Wine recipe...

Ingredients

1.2 pints grape tomatoes
2.6 garlic cloves, smashed
3.1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper or fresh/dried basil to taste (optional)
4.2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
5.Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1.Preheat the oven to 400°. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the tomatoes with the garlic, crushed red pepper and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the tomatoes for about 20 minutes, until they burst and their skins begin to shrivel, stirring once halfway through.  

2.Pour the remaining 2/3 cup of olive oil into a medium bowl. Tear the fresh basil (or lightly crush the dried flakes between your fingers) and submerge them in the oil. Add the tomatoes and their juices, stir gently and let stand for 30 minutes.  

3. I prefer to chop the mixture for an easier spread to go on crusty bread or hearty crackers, but you can serve the tomatoes whole as shown in the picture too.

© Akiko Ida & Pierre Javelle

Enjoy!