If You Give a Tibetan a Tomato
As we pulled into the driveway, I began to twitch a bit. There were SO many little red cherry tomatoes hanging on the vines. SO MANY.
Alexis pops the tomatoes like candy, which is good because they are there for her. I grow them every year so that she can grab a snack without harassing me. But there were so many little red balls hanging there that there was absolutely no way she could make a dent in them, even if she was asking to have salad for dinner.
As I walked past the plants, I noticed that a few of the tomatoes had burst. GAH! So much waste!
Let's not talk about the fact that the plants came up from seed all on their own. I paid nothing for them to be there. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds rose from seed this spring (as they do every year). I thinned them down to a half dozen plants. A half dozen plants for one kid to use as her "snacking spot" is probably excessive.
Also excessive -- my obsessive need to make sure none of the tomatoes go to waste. I don't know why it bothers me if they grow too ripe for consumption and have to be tossed, but I twitch. And freak out. And generally get all sorts of annoyed.
Every year I do what I can to give them away to anyone who will take them. Bags and bags of them have gone with me to work. I've made every friend I know who likes them take dozens of them home. I remind Alexis to snack on them at least four times a day. Cherry tomatoes aren't great for making sauce, but that hasn't stopped me in the past.
I needed a plan for dealing with the twitch-causing overage that was staring at me as I stood in the driveway.
"Alexis, eat some tomatoes!" I demanded.
She complied, but even after she had knocked out ten or so of them, there were still at least fifty more ready to be picked.
I thought and I thought and I made all sorts of faces that were probably ridiculous considering it's not like I can ship the extra tomatoes to Africa so that starving kids can eat them, but STILL! WASTE!
"Wait!" I called out to Alexis as she started to go in the house. "Hey, why don't you see if Penny likes tomatoes?" I suggested.
Penny sniffed. Penny considered. Penny looked over her shoulder at me as if trying to make sure it wasn't all a trap.
And then she took the tomato.
She walked around with that tomato for a solid five minutes, perfectly setting up my most favorite picture of a dog OF ALL TIME.
She finally ate the tomato and another and another and another and WOOHOO! We have solved our excessive cherry tomato problem!
What happens if you give a Tibetan a tomato? Everybody winds up happy.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Reader Comments (11)
My parents' dogs love tomatoes! They steal them right off the plants. One day my dad came home from work and thought squirrels had decimated his plants, until little Maggie came up with the white hair around her mouth completely tomato-stained. So cute!
Your pictures are great!
Just make sure she doesn't start eating the actual plants and leaves! those are not good for pups. Or for your plants. :-)
Haha! Love. That. Picture.
At our house, we call tomato plants "ball trees". The dogs run down, grab a tomato, play with it a while, then eat it.
I make a great light sauce with cherry or grape tomatoes. In a pan, sweat some onions in olive oil, toss in a bunch of cherry tomatoes and cook until they start to break down, toss in some garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, parsley, a little white wine and let it cook down a little more. At this point, I'll normally toss in some shrimp. Once the shrimp are cooked, dump it over some linguini and serve!
I have the same aversion to wasting food. Probably comes from early training, but I become irrationally upset if something has to get thrown out. Not only do I see money getting flushed straight down the toilet, but I mourn for the meal never eaten.
Too many people have so little, I just think it's a crime to squander what we do have.
first, that photo has made my day. not even 9:30 and i still don't think the internet could produce anything that would please me more. perfection!
second, i will tear up some grape and cherry tomatoes. like eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. feel free to send me home with as many as you care to spare. i promise they won't go to waste!
third, just a reminder that you are such a wonderful photographer.
:)
Such a good idea, and the picture is so cute.
HA. Perfect pooch picture.
I love that picture but I have to say I'm more than a little jealous. The deer ate all of my tomato plants before they even had a chance to get past the blossom stage.
As much as you like to garden, and as many fruits/vegies as you guys eat, you might want to consider starting some compost. We started with one compost bin and after about six months, we're letting that one break down completely while we add to the newer one. You would be surprised how much you can compost and the resulting mulchy soil stuff is really good for your gardens. Plus it's free. And between what we compost and what we recycle, our family of three only ends up with one bag of garbage a week. So, good for your garden, good for your pocketbook & good for the environment.
I have been using my CSA cherry tomatoes to make a nice pasta sauce. I need to be your neighbor :)