Whenever, in late summer, I bite into a perfect, ripe, juicy tomato,
I marvel at how we manage to make do with those pale, pathetic fruits
that pass themselves off as tomatoes throughout the year. Imposters!
Tomato season is in full swing right now, hooray. I’ve been poaching
small, beautiful red tomatoes from my parents’ garden and mooching
little fellas known as Mexican Midgets (which, miraculously, taste
like sunshine itself) from my friend’s P-patch. I’ve been using
heirloom tomatoes in salads and pasta. Yesterday, on a trip to Pike
Place Market, I bought a basket of sweet, sweet Sungolds and was unable
to stop eating them until I experienced acid-induced stomach pains.
While brushing up on my tomato knowledge with the help of The Penguin Companion to Food, I was tickled to see how the tomato
inspired another writer to wax poetic about its beauty: “For a
foodstuff which has come up to the front from almost nowhere in under
two centuries, the tomato has proved to have astonishingly vigorous
penetrative qualities, so that it is as close to being ubiquitous in
the kitchens of the world as any plant food… It is also relevant that
the tomato is highly marriageable.”
From September 10 through 15, Earth & Ocean (1112 Fourth Ave)
will be offering an “Ode to the Tomato Dinner,” a five-course dinner
featuring heirloom tomatoes (Green Zebras! Yellow Taxis!) and their
myriad flavor mates. Cost is $55; for more information visit www.earthocean.net or call 264-6060.
