The summer's unusual heat and abundance of hungry insects had promised an iffy tomato season anyway, but, needless to say, by the end of September, it was clear I would miss out on
my yearly homegrown tomato activities: no weekends of steamy kitchen windows with boiling pots of canned sauce featuring my prized Cherokee Purples; no homemade, slow - simmered San Marzano tomato paste; no sheet pans lining the counters with roasted black cherry tomatoes (the best tomato flavor on this earth, ever).