I love berries as much as the next person, buttomatoesare the real reason for the sunny season.

Im suggesting you maketomato sandwiches, a deceptively simple and vastly underrated lunch.

The problem with tomato sandwiches is that people put too many non-tomato things on them.

A tomato sandwich has four ingredients: bread, tomatoes, mayo, and salt.

I know some heathens who use Miracle Whip.

I know some rebels who crack some pepper on there.

The key to a good tomato sandwich is thetomato.

If you dont have a good tomato, make a different sandwich.

Conversely, if you do have a good tomato, do not add ingredients that obscure its god-given magnificence.

Do not add cheese.

Do not add stupid lettuce.

Pick a basic bread without distracting seeds or grains of whatever.

I recommend white sandwich bread.

Im sure you all know about bruschetta, but there are other ways to tomatoes on toasty bread.

(Well start with bruschetta though, because its really freaking good.)

(This is a good use for those tomatoes that arent quite worthy of the sandwich treatment.)

Flavorful ideas include:

Make bruschetta.

Like all other truly brilliant tomato recipes, bruschetta is best kept simple.

Spread on some little crostini and eat until you are sated.

(Extra credit if you puree the garlic inwiththe tomatoes.)

Good crusty bread topped with fresh goat cheese and olive oil-roasted cherry tomatoes.

Top with an egg if youre a mad man/woman.

Top an English muffin with some cheddar and a tomato slice.

Fry some bacon and throw it on there.

Wonder why you dont eat this every damn day.

Keep it super simple and roast cherry or halved plum tomatoes until they are blistered and melty.

Grab a baguette, halve it, and slather it with garlic butter.

Toast that, and smush your roasted tomatoes on top.

Hedonists might add some fresh mozzarella or basil, but its really not necessary.

Sauces, soups, salsas, and Bloody Marys are some of my favorite tomato consumption methods.

We shall start with sauce.

The simplest is just ahalved tomato, grated down to the skin.

(Oh, and dont throw out those skins.

Use them to prolong your summery mood by makingtomato salt.)

Soups

Getting even more liquified, we have tomato soups, broths and water.

Just dice a tomato up and mix with an equal amount of water.

Bring to a boil and steep for a bit (a half an hour is plenty).

Blend it all up and consume.

Funnel into one of those glass IKEA bottles and shake, shake, shake.

If you want a thicker mix, swap out the pickle juice for pureed pickles.

My main squeezes:

Caprese: When it comes to tomato-centric salads, caprese is king.

From there, get some good mozzarella, some fresh basil, and some high-quality olive oil for drizzling.

Good flakey salt and some freshly ground pepper come next.

Drizzle in some olive oil, and choose your add-ins.

Season with salt and pepper, hit it with some lemon juice or vinegar, and chow down.

Salt the insides to draw out liquid and let them drain upside down for a half hour or so.

(This will prevent juices from leaching out into your salad and making it gross and watery.)

Fill with chicken, tuna, or any other mayo-based (or tahini-based!)

salad of your choosing.

Fried Tomatoes: Fried green tomatoes are a southern staple for a reason.

Drag em through some seasoned bread crumbs (perhaps enhanced with a bit of zest?

Note the volume of juice collected.

Blanche a few sprigs of oregano blend them up in some safflower oil.

Strain the oil through cheesecloth and whisk into the juice.

Season with salt and a couple of tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar.

Just dont make your own ketchup.

In a world where theres Heinz, homemade ketchup is rarely worth it.

Photos byJoy,Nekotank,Jules,Cyclonebill,ImpromptuKitchen,Heather Katsoulis, and Claire Lower.