Day 7: Tomato Binge or Bust!

Despite my disgust toward ketchup, I LOVE tomatoes.  MM had told me I've never had a real tomato before and we Northerners don't know what real produce tastes like.  I have done some travel, to some warm weather climates, so I'm pretty sure I have in fact had a "real" tomato before.  However, I must have forgotten what they taste like because what I've been consuming down here are amazing.  Even more so because it's only June!  I've been told they only get better form here.  My father-in-law said he'd ship some up this summer...I'm not 100% sure how that will work, but hey, if he can do it, I won't argue one bit.

I'm on Day 7 and have successfully gotten myself back on course with the diet plan.  Today I had another tomato sandwich (my version is made with Laughing Cow cheese in lieu of mayo, and accented with some avocado slices).  The past two nights I've had fresh garden salads.  I even managed a mile swim yesterday.  I'm surrounded by all these amazing tomatoes and find it impossible to not get my fill.  I'm averaging about two a day.  Actually, I may have even had three yesterday as I scoffed down sauteed green tomatoes (not nearly as satisfying as the fried suckers, but tasty in their own right!)  Perhaps three tomatoes doesn't sound like a lot, or maybe it does.  Regardless could you (or at least all you tomato lovers out there) resist any less if they looked like the ones below?

Now that is what I call a tomato!  They are so red and juicy and sweet that my mouth is watering.

Now, the South is not immune to "bad" tomatoes anymore than we are.  You can walk into a chain grocery store here and pick up your average looking vine variety.  The red vine variety is usually what I buy up North as it seems to yield the best flavor and ISN'T generally mealy.  Sometimes I find if you go for those luscious big boys in the stores you are left with a flavorless red ball that feels like cornmeal on your tongue.  Anyway, back to the topic on hand....that up North I'm left mostly with the red vine variety (we do have some yummy tomatoes in the summer months but they still aren't quite what these guys are down here) and I have gotten to think these are really good over time.

For a visual comparison take a look below.

Obviously the runt in front is a different variety, but really, which would you go for?  You can even note the color difference, although the photography doesn't quite do it justice.  And no, I didn't find world's largest tomato to put the little guy to shame...most of the ones at the farm stand are that big!  And when you are doing Weight Watchers and counting every little point, this 0 point bomb is pretty satisfying.

I fear I have been spoiled by this unknown discovery.  What was just a legend that I could tell MM he was romanticizing has now been unveiled.  I don't know how I'm going to feel about my home grown tomatoes this summer knowing they are better than store bought but feeble in comparison to their Southern cousins.  Alas I am going to do my best to eat every last tomato in sight before leaving the state of Mississippi.  Then I'm going to put my new mistress out of my mind for good.  Or at least until my next summer visit.  They may even be worth risking heat stroke for in the future.

Until tomorrow, I wish you happy and healthy eating...and for those of you not so blessed with tomatoes like above...try to make do!