By Fourth of July and I am thirteen weeks pregnant and going to the Kowalczyk family backyard gathering for the first time as a Kowalczyk wife who is also visibly something else, though not visibly yet — the pregnancy is not showing in a way that strangers would notice but the family notices the way families do, in the way they look at me and then look at my midsection and then look away. Babcia Rose does not look away. She looks at me directly with an expression that is either approval or prescription and is probably both.
Steve made ribs this year instead of brisket, the first time he has made ribs for the Fourth instead of brisket in my memory, and I asked him why and he said he felt like ribs. That is the full Steve Kowalczyk culinary explanation. The ribs were excellent. They were better than his brisket, which I will never say to his face because the brisket is important to him and the ribs being better is something I am keeping to myself. I brought my regular Fourth of July contribution: potato salad, mustard-based, which is the thing I make for summer gatherings because it is one of the things I make better than most people I know, and I am not being modest about this.
Kristin brought David and they sat with me for most of the afternoon and we talked about the October wedding, which is coming up in four months, and about what the year is looking like. I said it is looking like everything. She said same. We are both getting everything we wanted in the same year, which feels like a lot and also like: it is about time, in the Steve Kowalczyk sense of the phrase.
Ryan sat outside with Steve and Matt after dinner the way he always does now and I watched from the kitchen window the way I always do and thought: this is the family. The family I grew up in, the family I married into, and now the small person we are adding to it. Due in late November. Plenty of time. Everything exactly right.
The mustard potato salad is mine and I own that — but the thing that kept disappearing from the table before I could even get a second helping was the Fire and Ice Tomatoes someone set out near the ribs, and I have been thinking about them since. There is something right about a dish that is cold and bright and a little sharp on a hot July afternoon when you are thirteen weeks pregnant and happier than you have been in a long time and just want to eat something that tastes exactly like summer. This is that dish.
Fire and Ice Tomatoes
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 15 minutes + 1 hour chilling | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 4 large ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 1 medium white onion, thinly sliced into rings
- 1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
- 3/4 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Combine the vegetables. In a large bowl, layer the tomato wedges, onion rings, and green pepper strips. Set aside.
- Make the brine. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the vinegar, water, sugar, celery salt, mustard seed, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and cayenne. Stir and bring to a boil, cooking for 1 minute until the sugar is fully dissolved.
- Pour and toss. Remove the brine from heat and pour it immediately over the vegetables. Gently toss to coat everything evenly.
- Chill. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving, allowing the flavors to meld and the tomatoes to absorb the brine.
- Serve cold. Transfer to a serving dish with a slotted spoon and serve alongside ribs, potato salad, or any summer spread.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 45 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 10g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 180mg