Now That's a Tomato!

Until such time as I can get my act together and grow my own, I am very fortunate to live across the street from Madeline and Cosmo, our very generous green-thumb neighbors.

These days Whole Foods sells heirloom tomatoes that are as lumpy and misshapen as this and taste (almost) as heavenly, and yet I still see people choosing the perfectly spherical, perfectly red, perfectly tasteless imported variety. HUH?

Comments

[Brenda]

Hi! I occasionally browse Typepad's recently updated sites. Seeing that beautiful tomato reminds me of my childhood. No. I didn't grow up on a farm, but we had a large backyard, and during the summer we would grow tomatoes and corn.

[Tammy]

I know. What is UP with that? Ugly tomatoes are the best. Do you know what kind it was?

[Karen]

He just called it a beefsteak, but I remember in years past he called it an oxheart. I should have added something to the photo for scale; the thing is bigger than a grapefruit.

[Bonnie Jacobs]

I once grew a tomato that was one ounce short of TWO POUNDS. Yes, really! It was delicious. And it was, of course, misshapen.

[Leah]

My mouth is watering. There is nothing like a warm, freshly picked tomato. Those "perfect" looking ones are the reason people think they don't like tomatoes, IMO.

[Karen]

I think you're right -- I used to be one of those people.