This week’s Think Write Thursday topic is to tell us what you do when you find yourself with an abundance of tomatoes because ’tis the season!

Ode to Tomatoes by Pablo Neruda

the street filled with tomatoes, midday, summer,
light is halved like a tomato, its juice runs through the streets.
in December, unabated, the tomato invades the kitchen, it enters at lunchtime,
takes its ease on countertops, among glasses, butter dishes, blue saltcellars.
it sheds its own light, benign majesty.
unfortunately, we must murder it: the knife sinks into living flesh,
red viscera a cool sun, profound, inexhaustible, populates the salads of Chile,
happily, it is wed to the clear onion, and to celebrate the union we pour oil,
essential child of the olive, onto its halved hemispheres,
pepper adds its fragrance, salt, its magnetism;
it is the wedding of the day, parsley hoists its flag,
potatoes bubble vigorously, the aroma of the roast knocks at the door,
it’s time! come on! and, on the table, at the midpoint of summer, the tomato,
star of earth, recurrent and fertile star, displays its convolutions,
its canals, its remarkable amplitude and abundance, no pit, no husk,
no leaves or thorns, the tomato offers its gift of fiery color and cool completeness.

It is my favorite time of the year, that moment when the garden is overflowing with ripe tomatoes and the point of tomatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is upon us! My love for tomatoes matches Pablo Neruda’s…it is indeed time!

I have made 2 batches of jam thus far and will make a third batch later this week – sadly, this is the only way Steve will eat tomatoes. For me however, there is nothing that compares to the taste of fresh tomatoes. My favorite lunch is a bowl of tomatoes sprinkled with salt and some freshly cracked pepper then drizzled with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Simple and so delicious. Breakfast? A bit of cottage cheese and more tomatoes – the breakfast of the gardener! And, I can always find room on my dinner plate for some beautiful red tomato slices! And, the gardener’s snack? Sun-warmed tomatoes fresh off the vine are summer’s best candy!

And, if there are more tomatoes than I can eat – I can always find someone who is happy with the gift of a fresh tomato or two!

If you want to see what others are doing with all their tomatoes, you will find them here. If you would like to join Carole and me for Think Write Thursday’s, you can sign up here!

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