One of the things I like best about summer is the availability of fresh produce. So I was pleased when the local open-air produce stand finally opened a few weeks ago. I stopped by yesterday to grab a few fresh tomatoes. I love tomatoes, especially those with a fresh tangy flavor. It reminds me of my youth when we used to pluck them from the vine and eat them on the spot. Sometimes I even ate them from our own garden...The juice would run down your chin...I can still taste that sweet, acidy earthy flavor...
I grabbed a half dozen beauties, four red and two yellow (I like yellow best). They were ripe and a nice size, just a few imperfections in the shape and skin. No engineered hot house perfectos for me. I diced one last night for taco toppings. The tomato seemed rather tasteless, but maybe it was overpowered by the spices in the dish.
This morning sliced up one of the red beauties and prepared some bacon as accompaniment. I made some coffee and poured a glass of OJ to wash it all down. It was a breakfast fit for a king. Only again the tomato was bland and tasteless. It was no better than the tomatoes I could have grabbed at Marsh or Kroger. In fact the last bunch of tomatoes I bought at Marsh were far superior. Has my local produce guy begun to buy his produce from the same old hot houses as the big grocery stores? I hope not. I had my heart set on buying a fresh cantaloupe for a Saturday cookout.
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