My heritage is Italian, so naturally I love tomatoes. I’m sure there are people of Italian heritage who don’t like tomatoes, but I haven’t found one yet. My love of tomatoes surely came from my grandfathers, Charlie and Tony, who both kept their own gardens. Charlie’s garden featured watermelons, concord grapes, figs, cherries, and of course, tomatoes. Tony was a master gardener. He could make any dried up, wilted plant come to life. His garden featured zucchini, corn, beans, peas, lettuce, a peach-pear tree, and of course, tomatoes.
I think it was Charlie, who got me started on a simple dish of slice tomatoes with a sprinkling of salt and a light drizzle of olive oil. I would sit with him on a Sunday afternoon and slurp up all the juicy goodness. As a child, I used to eat tomatoes like they were apples. I loved them so much. In my mind, tomatoes equal summer.
Tony would make big vats of tomato sauce. The pot would simmer on his stove all day long. He engaged me in the process from garden to kitchen: picking tomatoes, washing them, chopping garlic, tenderly rinsing oregano and fresh-picked basil. In fact, when I smell fresh basil, I begin to tear up because Tony’s face immediately appears to me.
This week, I gathered up some garden tomatoes from a local farm stand and got to work making a summer meal for my husband and myself. These summer nights allow me to enjoy the kitchen again, since I am not working. I have time to plan and prepare more elaborate meals, which is one of the ways I relax. Cooking is work, but it also is creating something for people you love and enjoying the fruits of your labor, quite literally.
Cookbooks for Tomato Lovers
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 
I like tomatoes, but I am particular about how they are cooked. Fresh tomatoes are the best, sliced and eaten with cucumbers and basil. I love how your poem is a recipe with an added flavor of the kitchen alone and with others.
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This is an ode to tomatoes but more to the gardeners of your heart, Charlie and Tony. It is so sweet that the smell of basil brings Tony back. I was wishing I were sitting down to summer bounty, the “sweet, tart juice running down my skin. I ate an almost-bursting-from-its skin tomato last night, sliced with salt, lime, and avocado…heaven!
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You just reminded me now of Pablo Neruda’s ode to tomatoes – https://allpoetry.com/Ode-to-Tomatoes. I had forgotten about it until you mentioned “an ode to tomatoes.” Thank you for the reminder.
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This is a wonderful ode to my favorite fruit, as well. I love them with good olive oil, salt and pepper; however, once a summer, I throw caution to the wind and make them into a BLT!
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Joanne, what a delicious post! When you tell of eating tomatoes like apples, my mouth watered when I read that and remembered eating warm ripe tomatoes (like an apple) out of our Iowa garden. I think there is nothing better in the summer. Beautiful! I loved reading Neruda’s poem too: Yes: “no pit, no husk, no leaves or thorns”
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You included so much in this slice – a family story, a photo and then links to tomato recipes!! Love it!!
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Yes, indeed! Eating culturally and seasonally makes for a rich table. 🙂 Great post – thank you for sharing the zeal.
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