It’s time for us to celebrate the humble tomato.
And when I say humble, I really mean it; the tomato is a very selfless fruit. Far superior to those attention-hogging, fruit-bowl dwelling divas – apples, pears, oranges – that crave validation and demand to be eaten alone. Oh sure, sometimes, just sometimes, those fruits will agree to be combined in a fruit salad. But you can tell they resent it. They’d rather have your full attention.
Not the tomato.
The tomato is never eaten by itself, but instead spends its time adding colour, flavour, and texture to other foods. Not many fruits or vegetables can claim the versatility of the tomato. Salad. Soup. Pizza. Tacos. Bruschetta. Hamburgers, twice: once sliced and once as ketchup.
They can be roasted. Fried. Boiled. Poached. Eaten raw. They come in red, green, yellow, purple, pink, and striped. (Yes, striped: that would be the fantastically-named green zebra variety.)
Even their size gives you options. Do you like fruit the size of a softball? Tomatoes can do that. Do you prefer grapes? Tomatoes have got your back. Oh, you’re a cherry fan? Well, that’s ridiculous because a cherry is basically the same size as a grape, but if you’re so picky that you demand your small fruit to be spherical, tomatoes can do that too.
Had a hard day and need something to take the edge off? Have a Caesar.
I submit that the tomato is the most honourable food out there. And what thanks does it get? None. It gets ignored, taken for granted, mislabelled as a vegetable. Or used as ammunition in a twisted annual food fight in Spain.
Today, in this small corner of the internet, the tomato gets its due. Thumbs up, tomatoes. We see you, and we thank you.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The slow, hammock-swing rhythm of the piano brings to mind Erik Satie.
2. Just when you think it’s going to be a straight-up piano song, a dreamy echo starts making the melody fold over on itself.
3. Swelling synths start to fade in about two minutes in, and somehow, it makes me visualize a huge, simmering pot of tomato sauce.
Recommended listening activity:
Slicing and/or dicing.