Tomato Trophy

Do you remember your first vegetable garden? The sweet smell of success? One tiny seed planted in the soil, under golden rays of bright sunshine. Anxiously watering, fertilizing and tending to it day in and day out, finally a tiny seedling pops through the soil. Your work has just begun. More watching as tiny buds form, yielding branches and leaves. More weeding, mulching, watering and watching. A trellis vine of robust green and fragrant stems emerges. The wonder of a tiny yellow blossom appears, then seems to flail. Oh dear.

Thankfully, little nubs of green fruit begin to set.  Week by week, more watering, more watching.  The green fruit grows plumper. Slowly, it begins to ripen, changing color from vibrant medium green to a lighter shade, with faint pink or yellow blushing. Don’t rush it, patience, you tell yourself.  More watering and more watching.  Finally, the moment! Gently navigating the leaves and vine you place your hand in and twist the tomato from the plant, cradling it in your hands, you bring it closer for inspection. Can’t resist the brisk earthy aroma of the spicy vine blended with notes of sweet fruit.

Ahh your trophy. The first ripe tomato of the season. The Tomato Trophy. Red, bright, sweet, a hard-won achievement. Eating it will be worth all the hard work. A good tomato is hard to forget. You know you’ve hit the jackpot in the first spicy fruit scent.