At a recent farmers’ market, I said to myself, “I’m sick of heirloom tomatoes.”

I hate to be ungrateful, but I wish these beauties made a longer appearance here in Connecticut. Then I wouldn’t have to go overboard, eating them night after night, when they are season. Out on my lunch hour and shopping without a game plan, I aimlessly wandered the market until I found inspiration in a sad looking cardboard box filled with rock hard green tomatoes. I remembered a recipe in my brand new cookbook, The Homesick Texan.

I was going to make fried green tomatoes! Now I’m slightly afraid of frying (it was the cause of a kitchen fire during my childhood), but I was pleased these seemed to come off correctly on the first try. I don’t have a point of reference, I’ve never had them down South. They did turn out like looking similar to the photo in Lisa Fain’s beautiful cookbook!

There is a footnote in the recipe to make your move soon after your purchase. It’s much easier to work with firm, less juicy tomatoes.  Heed this advice, Green tomatoes wait for no man (or woman). I delayed this undertaking for 4 days and a few of my tomatoes were already noticeably softer, with a rosy pink hue.

Now that its football season, I’ll have more time to cook on Sundays while D is watching all the NFL games. I hope to cook my way through many more of these Texas favorites. Stay tuned or jump on the Homesick Texan blog to create your own taste of the lone star state. I don’t see this particular recipe on the blog, you’ll need to get your hands on the cookbook to give it a whirl or here is a similar recipe.