Tomato sandwich (Provided photo — Yvona Fast)

Fresh, locally grown tomatoes are plentiful at farmers’ markets and farm stands right now. We use them in salads. We cook with them. But they truly shine in the tomato sandwich.

Choose your tomato. There are so many varieties — yellow tomatoes, red tomatoes, heirlooms of all types. Mom’s favorite was the Russian Galina. Other people prefer beefsteak tomatoes.

Select your bread. Do you like Italian? Wheat? Rye? Sourdough? Again, infinite variety. Your tomato sandwich can be open-faced or use two slices of bread, it’s all up to you.

Choose your spread. The go-to is mayo. But what about hummus? Or a soft cheese? Sour cream or yogurt are other options. So are guacamole, or simply avocado, pesto or your favorite local mustard. At the farmers’ market, I found Garlic Toum, a garlicky oil emulsion relish made for garlic lovers.

Do you want to add cheese? What kind? Feta? Cheddar? Swiss? A mild mozzarella? What about ham or bacon?

Grilled cheese sandwiches are wonderful with tomatoes. Make them with a good-quality cheddar. A twist is tomato and Havarti melted inside a pita.

You can add other vegetables like lettuce, spinach, arugula, onions or cucumbers. Maybe a pickle. A few fresh basil leaves can add flavor to your tomato sandwich, too. So many choices!

I plan to cook a fancy dinner, but then … a tomato sandwich calls. It makes a quick, simple meal. The simplest is just bread, spread with mayo and topped with garden-fresh tomatoes, sprinkled with salt and pepper.

Then there’s the classic: a BLT — bacon, lettuce and tomato, usually also slathered with mayonnaise. There are variations on the BLT as well. Some omit the lettuce or the bacon, depending on personal tastes and preferences. Others like to add avocado, or use avocado in place of bacon. The mayonnaise can be replaced with mustard, avocado, pesto or guacamole.

Speaking of guacamole — what about a guacamole and tomato sandwich? Or tomatoes, feta and spinach? Tomato and spinach on bread spread with mashed avocado. Or a sandwich spread with pesto topped with tomato slices.

From the south come sandwiches with fried green tomatoes. Or tomatoes on top of sauteed greens rather than fresh spinach or lettuce, topped with a little cheese and placed under the broiler, or sprinkled with feta.

Tomatoes are great on other sandwiches, too. Like ham or tuna or chicken salad topped with tomatoes and spinach.

There are so many ways to eat tomatoes on a sandwich, just use your imagination. I bet you can come up with even more ideas for fresh, tasty summer tomatoes. Because summer tomatoes are different: so flavorful, so juicy. I don’t eat tomatoes all winter long, but relish them in the summer when fresh local tomatoes are available.

Tomatoes are incredibly good for you. They contain lycopene, an antioxidant known for preventing macular degeneration that also has anti-cancer properties. They are rich in vitamin C, and are a good source of vitamins A and B, potassium, iron and phosphorus. At just 35 calories, they have as much fiber as a slice of whole-grain bread. So eat ’em up while summer is here!

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Classic BLT

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Ingredients:

2 strips bacon

2 slices bread of your choice

1 ripe tomato

1 or 2 leaves of Romaine lettuce (or equivalent amount of spinach or another lettuce).

1-2 tablespoons mayonnaise of your choice

Directions:

In a skillet, cook bacon until crispy. Drain on paper towels.

Toast two slices of your favorite bread (or not).

Spread each slice of bread with mayonnaise. (If you wish, spread it with butter first, then mayo).

Top one slice with the Romaine lettuce leaf.

Arrange tomato slices on top, then add crumbled bacon.

Top with remaining lettuce leaf and remaining slice of bread.

Enjoy!

Serves 1.

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Open-face cream cheese sandwich with tomatoes and cucumbers

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Ingredients:

1 slice artisan bread (or 1/2 large bagel)

1 tablespoon whipped cream cheese

2 slices tomato

1 thin slice sweet onion, optional

A few slices of cucumber

Salt & pepper

Directions:

Spread bread with cream cheese. Top with ingredients in order given: tomato slices, onion, cucumber, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Devour.

Serves 1.

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Grilled cheese and tomato sandwich

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Ingredients:

Garden-fresh tomato

Salt and pepper

Four slices of whole-grain or sourdough bread

4 oz (1/4 pound) cheese, sliced. I like mild Cheddar for this as it doesn’t overpower the tomato.

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Fresh basil leaves (optional)

1-2 teaspoon butter

Directions:

Slice a tomato. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Spread one side of each slice of bread with mayonnaise.

Place 1 slice of cheese on each slice of bread. Drain the juice from the tomatoes and place a slice of tomato on each slice. Scatter basil leaves on top if desired.

Place two slices together to make a sandwich.

Melt butter in a nonstick skillet over low heat. Place sandwiches in the skillet. Cover. Cook 4 – 5 minutes, then flip (add more butter if needed) and cook the other side.

Serves 2.

Best served with a salad of fresh seasonal greens.

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Author of the award-winning cookbook Garden Gourmet: Fresh & Fabulous Meals from your Garden, CSA or Farmers’ Market, Yvona Fast lives in Lake Clear and has two passions: writing and cooking. She can be found at www.yvonafast.com and reached at yvonawrite @yvonawrites.