First Tomato

I am eating, as I type, my first homegrown tomato of the year. It's actually not from my garden. My tomatoes are sitting in the garden stubbornly refusing to turn red. The tomato I am enjoying is from my mom's tiny patch, or from my brother's garden. I don't really know whose tomato I am enjoying, but I surely am. When I arrived home this evening, a little bag of three tomatoes was wrapped around the handle to my side door. Isn't is remarkable to have family who will share their first tomatoes of the season with you?

But, back to the tomato. It's so juicy, sweet and absolutely bursting with flavor. It was still faintly warm when I sliced into it. The fruit was almost round, not too big, and perfectly tomato red. I chopped it into uneven chunks in my eagerness to eat it. A little dab of cottage cheese, some cucumber slices (from my garden), a dash of salt and freshly ground pepper, and I'm savoring the perfect summer meal.

If you've not had your first homegrown tomato, I hope you will soon. It's such a wonderful treat.