Basically the world can be divided into two camps, those who never tire of home-grown tomatoes, and those who do.
I'm in the first camp, the tomato huggers.
I will admit that by late summer, the sensation of pressing willing lips to warm tomato skin has become more of a familiar pleasure than the novel frolic it felt like a few weeks ago. But it is still something I enjoy.
I will also admit that familiarity can lead to taking certain liberties. Such as throwing tomatoes. In early September a soft tomato that would have been judged a keeper in early July becomes a ready candidate for a tomato toss. Hurling rotten tomatoes at distant targets, some moving, some not, is one of the fringe benefits that comes with a summer of toiling in a garden.
A few weeks earlier, when the weather was mild and the crops delicate, you wouldn't consider such raucous behavior. But after putting up with the excesses of a Maryland summer -- the searing heat, the aggressive bugs, the impudent weeds -- you are ready for some rough-and-tumble.
These days tomatoes come out of the garden in heavy waves. They fill up kitchen windowsills like new Toyotas stockpiling on the docks of Dundalk. An abundant, colorful supply awaiting demand.
In such flush times it is easy to take tomatoes for granted. So the other day, in an exercise to guard against complacency, I caressed a locally grown Beefsteak and cataloged the many charms of Maryland tomatoes.
Like a true beauty, a home-grown tomato is in its glory in a simple setting. Slice it, cover it with a little olive oil, a few basil leaves and some salt and you have a classic.
I grew up eating sliced tomatoes at summer suppers. To this day, no matter how much corn on the cob or steamed shrimp I have eaten, I still can't resist polishing off the last tomato slices that sit invitingly on the serving plate in front of me.
I like salt on my tomatoes. It is a habit that goes back to my days as a high school football player. In the last weeks of August my football team practiced twice a day. One practice was held in the morning and the second in the late afternoon. The idea was to get the team in shape before school started. Many high school teams today have a similar schedule.
