June 16

If It’s My Last Meal, An Imposter Tomato Won’t Do

11  comments

This week’s topic for the 52-week #MFRW Blog Challenge is entitled, “If I could eat ONE Last Meal.” I may be a mild-mannered, slow-to-anger, introverted author and unlikely to be spending my time on death row, but this is a topic I’ve thought of before. It’s not an extravagant or expensive meal, and really not even considered a meal, but there are very specific guidelines in it’s creation. 

To me a garden tomato is what I look forward to in summer more than anything. That and the abundance of fruit. (I share a humorous story of my love of rasperries here ) I’ve actually discussed my love of garden tomatoes at length on a blog about things I treasure here and am reposting A Labor of Love below.

I love good food, and I love to eat. Lucky for me I have a husband who loves to cook so I get to enjoy the fruits of his labor. But I can be pleased by the simplest meal of a garden tomato sandwich.

Sometimes Simple Is Best

Recipe for The Tomato Sandwich

  • A garden tomato- see below to identify if you’ve truly got your hands on a cherished garden tomato
  • White bread- yes I pretty much only eat wheat, high fiber, super healthy bread, but sometimes this throwback from childhood is the best
  • Mayonnaise. No other imposters will do. 

That’s it. Enjoy. 

A Labor of Love

garden tomatoAs the summer winds down and the first thoughts of fall tickle the corners of my mind, there’s one thing I treasure more than the changing colors of the leaves and the shadow of a promise of the autumn crisp air… tomatoes. 

Not Just any Tomato, Mind you, Garden Tomatoes.

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but the tomatoes you see in the store, the ones that never seem quite as red. That lack firmness, and when you cut them they reveal mushy centers or bleached flesh… those aren’t real tomatoes.

Those imposters could never live up to the taste of a fresh, garden #tomato. #MFRW Click To Tweet

Around June I’ll start asking my father, and father in law, how soon I should expect a garden tomato. Knowing darn well that I usually must wait until well into July, or maybe even August. I get impatient because there’s nothing like that first tomato after long months of deprivation. Then they start coming in droves. I make my best effort to ensure none of them are wasted since I know; it’s feast and then famine. 

Cursed With a Black Thumb.

I don’t garden myself. I’ve never tried. One reason being that despite having a mother who grows beautiful flowers and a father who gardens, I have what I refer to as a black thumb. Most things I try to grow die. Houseplants shudder at the thought of taking up residence. The other more important reason that I’ve never attempted to grow my own tomatoes, is because both my father and father in law are stellar gardeners. They provide me with my bounty of tomatoes and I don’t take it for granted.

It’s More Than the Tomato that I Treasure

Because I’m sure, if I scoured the stores and farmer’s markets I might, just might, be able to find a home-grown garden tomato somewhere. I treasure knowing my father and my father in law have grown these tomatoes. They’ve taken their time, and love, for months to nurture the little seedlings into plants. Painstakingly caring for them through unpredictable weather and fending off wildlife clamoring to have the garden as their lunch.

Must Love Plants.

scruff loves a tomato
Even Scruff loves Tomatoes. I hate to share the garden ones but look at this face!

Almost anybody can start a garden (well, maybe not me, lol) but not everybody can be a gardener.  I’ve encouraged my husband to learn the gardening secrets these two wonderful men in my life have honed into a science. These tricks of their skillful trade are as precious as that cherished family recipe. These gardens, these tomatoes, are the fruits of a labor of love.

What About You? What Would be Your One Last Meal?

MFRW Blog Challenge on One Last Tomato SandwichFollow the #MFRW Blog Hop to Discover What Other Authors Would Choose as Their One Last Meal.

 

 

 

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Tags

Authors, blog hop, Books, garden, Meal, MFRW, Repost, tomato, writing


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  1. Oh my goodness, my mouth is watering at the thought of a good garden tomato. It’s been a long, long time since I had one. I used to grow my own (I wasn’t good at it) and I got lots of them from my dad who was a terrific gardener, but he’s passed on now and I’ve moved a million miles away, and I don’t think anyone here actually gardens. ….sigh…. Thanks for reminding me how wonderful they are.

    1. Thanks for visiting, Sherry. I know, I’m spoiled. I keep telling my husband that he needs to learn to grow them because out of the two of us, he’s the most likely to keep them alive.

  2. I’m with you on that black thumb thing:)

    Hubby loves tomato sandwiches, only he prefers them with butter:) I never learned to like tomatoes, unless they are smothered in cheese. Which is weird, since I love both ketchup and marinara sauce.

  3. You are so right about the store-bought tomatoes. I usually only buy roma and grape tomatoes because they sometimes have some semblance of flavor, but nothing beats a real home-grown tomato. Sadly, like you, I have a black thumb when it comes to gardening.

  4. Sometimes the simplest things are the best. I have more a brown thumb than black. I’ve managed to keep my house plants alive, but I once tried to grow herbs, it didn’t go well. LOL

  5. I feel much the same way about some fruits and berries as you do about tomatoes. I used to live in orchard country, and let me tell you, there’s a difference in, say, peaches or cherries, that are just a day off the farm!

  6. Oh Yes I love a good tomato sandwich and like you it has to be a garden tomato. I am watching my plants daily knowing it will still be a while though I have a couple green ones LOL

  7. Simple yet delicious! I used to garden as more than just a hobby, and the cherry tomato will always be my go-to plant at the open market! Thanks for sharing

  8. Yum, you’re right – there’s nothing like a garden-ripe tomato, fresh off the vine. Now, I’m wishing the farmer’s markets were open here…

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