CHCH News - Life's Little Pleasures

To many, summer means the kids are under foot, miserable temperatures or lazy evenings in the porch swing sipping on a glass of cold iced tea (sweet of course. Any other way is uncivilized) or lemonade.

Summer around here means those things and more. It means picnics, lazing by the pool with a good book and most especially gardening.

In our area, the various gardens are lushly green with okra, squash plants, corn, beans, onions and peppers among other things. Among those other things are the wonderful tomato plants. No garden would be complete without them.

Tomatoes are the one vegetable that goes with anything. These little red darlings are always welcomed in soups, salsa, chili and burgers. But the best thing you can do with them is a simple delicacy known as a “Tomato Sandwich”. Nothing better on a hot summer day than one of these. There is, however, a certain way of making and eating them that etiquette does require. Etiquette for a sandwich? You bet! Almost everyone has eaten a tomato sandwich but have they been eaten properly? Lets find out…

First, you put mayo on the bread - this is an absolute must, no tomato sandwich is complete without mayonaisse. Next, you slice your tomato. Ok, that’s good too. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Good job. Now, here’s where the etiquette comes in. A tomato sandwich is only properly eaten if you have to stand over the kitchen sink because of all the juice running out of your sandwich and down your arm and off your elbow. If this is how your sandwiches turn out, congratulations! You have achieved “Tomato Etiquette”. There is no better snack in the world on a hot summer day than a cool, fresh , home grown tomato sandwich.

Another use for them is frying them. First time I ever heard my Grandmother talk of frying green tomatoes, I wondered if she was just in such a hurry for tomatoes that she couldn’t or wouldn’t wait for them to ripen. For years the concept of frying green tomatoes was an alien idea to me. Then one day, I saw the book “Fried Green Tomatoes” by Fannie Flagg and bought it. I read it and really enjoyed it. Once I got to the back of the book, I saw there were recipes for the foods served at the “Whistle Stop Café”. Such mouth watering dishes as the fried chicken, biscuits and of course the fried green tomatoes. Well, the book made them sound sooooo appealing that I tried them and just like my Grandmother said, they were delicious! I found out that day that my Grandmother’s suggestion of fried green tomatoes wasn’t so odd after all.

There’s no two ways about it… tomatoes are indeed one of life’s little pleasures.

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