I was standing under the hot Kansas sun this morning glaring at my tomato plants, which are currently full of green tomatoes.  Yes, still green.  In August.

It’s been a slow year for tomatoes in eastern Kansas, and my tomatoes are steadfastly refusing to hurry up and get ripe.  I’ve had to to to the farmer’s market to scavenge whatever ripe tomatoes I can get.

Try as I might, I can’t hurry Mother Nature.  And patience isn’t one of my many virtues.  So I played a little hardball with the tomato plants and snatched three half-ripe green tomatoes off the vines.

Instead of sulking, I’ll just make some fried green tomatoes tonight.

For those of you stuck with blessed with a bumper crop of green tomatoes, here’s the recipe I use.  Just make sure you get your hands on green tomatoes that are firm and medium in size — the bigger and riper they are, the bigger chance they’ll fall apart when you turn them in the hot oil.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Aside from your three green tomatoes, you’ll need:

1  large egg, lightly beaten

1/2  cup  buttermilk

1/2  cup  all-purpose flour, divided

1/2  cup  cornmeal

1  teaspoon  salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 cups vegetable or canola oil.

more salt and pepper to taste

hot sauce, to taste

Slice your tomatoes about 1/3 of an inch thick.

Put 1/4 cup of flour into a shallow bowl — we’ll call it Bowl 1.  In another shallow bowl, mix the egg and buttermilk — this is Bowl 2.  In a third bowl, mix the cornmeal, the other 1/4 cup of flour, and the teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper — you guessed it, Bowl 3.

Heat your oil.  It’s recommended that the oil get between 350 and 375 degrees, but I confess I never actually check the temperature.  I just throw a few drops of water into the oil, and if they pop I call it ready.

While the oil’s heating, dredge your tomato slices in order into Bowl 1, Bowl 2 and Bowl 3.  When the oil’s ready, slide the tomato slices in and fry for about 2 minutes on each side (until they are a light golden brown).

Drain the tomatoes on paper towels and serve hot.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to your taste.  Some like to dash a little Louisiana Hot Sauce, too!