Grocery stores might try to convince you otherwise, but it’s pretty tough to get a decent tomato in Western Pennsylvania in January.
The plump red fruit—preferably homegrown or sourced locally at your favorite farmers market—is at its juicy prime in late summer, forcing tomato lovers either to eat their fill before fall rolls around and then pine for a “good tomato” all winter long, or roll up their sleeves to chop and freeze a few batches or turn a couple of pecks (or a bushel) into sauce.
