hi Jack, thanks for this - I always enjoy reading these posts. I thought of you when I bought my first basket of raspberries this summer. "Cherries Red, Asparagus Dead" is also a pretty good way to remember the passing of the seasons...

I have a tomato question for you. One of my favorite summertime meals is spaghetti with raw tomato sauce: skin the tomatoes, removing the seeds, then add a little garlic, basil and olive oil and serve with spaghetti. The problem is that the tomatoes are hit and miss - sometimes they're just right, but sometimes they aren't juicy enough, or a particular type isn't ripe yet and they don't have much flavor. Is there a specific type of tomatoes that would lend themselves particularly well to a recipe like this during the summer months?