Jim Dixon wrote about food for WW for more than 20 years, but these days most of his time is spent at his olive oil-focused specialty food business Wellspent Market. Jim’s always loved to eat, and he encourages his customers to cook by sending them recipes every week through his newsletter. We’re happy to have him back creating some special dishes just for WW readers.

James Beard, maybe Oregon’s most famous proponent of seasonal eating, would gorge on his favorite things when they were at their peak. Now’s the time to stuff yourself with tomatoes. While it’s true that grocery store tomatoes are getting better, nothing tastes as good as a sun-warmed, vine-ripened tomato, and if you’re not growing any, farmers market stands and better produce sections are currently overflowing with the fruit.

While I love to eat them with nothing more than some flaky salt (and maybe extra-virgin olive oil or mayo), I like to use tomatoes in as many dishes as possible while they’re here. This cobbler is made with the simple Cuppa Cuppa batter I use for other fruits, but this one has less sugar and a few savory extras.

All-purpose flour works fine, but take advantage of the Northwest’s mill renaissance that’s brought us great flour from Camas Country, Fairhaven, and other companies using wheats that aren’t typically found in commodity flour.

Tomato Cobbler With Feta

1 cup flour

1 cup milk or buttermilk

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more to grease the pan

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher-style salt

1 pint cherry tomatoes

3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

8 ounces feta cheese

Fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Oregano

Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, then stir in the milk, olive oil and garlic. Spread a splash of olive oil around a 10-inch skillet (or similar-sized baking pan) so it covers the bottom, then add the batter.

Place the tomatoes in an even layer over the batter, then use your hands to crumble the feta over them. Sprinkle the herbs on top and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. You can eat this warm, but I like it best at room temperature.