Whoa! Just looked at the calendar. Did you know that it’s August already? The good news is that it’s also the tomatoes all ready season! To answer the age old question: fruit or vegetable, my answer is always: Do we care? And “Do I have tomato seeds in my teeth?”
From the cherry-sized pop-in-your-mouth or the big-enough-to-cover-a-slice-of-bread size, the best tomatoes are the just-off-the-vine ones now appearing at your local (that means the Lansdowne Farmers Market) produce stand…Tucquan Farm. Farmer Dan and Co. know how to set a table.
The tomato has a long culinary history…from its south of the border origins, to its continental cuisines, and back home to Mama’s pot on the back of the stove…is it sauce, or is it gravy? Wars have been fought over less.
Tomatoes and cooking and family traditions are a triad in almost every culture from every corner of the globe. Author Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s Song of Tomatoes to My Grandmother and Bite By Bite both memorialize the heart connection that spans continents and kitchens. Go ahead and click on the link. I guarantee you’ll be glad you peeked.
And there’s more than meets the eye…or stomach…The art world also appreciates a well-turned tomato…from poet Pablo Neruda’s famous Ode to a Tomatoto Andy Warhol’s ubiquitous Cambell soup cans, and from songs to snobbery…a la Vanity Fair…I guess their pizza is upper crust.
But for sheer craziness nothing beats Spain’s Tomatina…
A decades old tradition that draws 20 thousand people to a tiny Spanish village to hurl about 320,000 ripe tomatoes at each other for an hour each and every August. You probably missed out on tix for this year, but if you’re cruise’n for a bruis’n by a ripe red tomato, there’s always next year on August 27. Hasta la Vista, bebe! Note: Don’t try this at home.
Meanwhile, back here in Lansdowne we’ve been in a heatwave hot enough to turn any tomato into sauce just by sitting it on the blacktop. And the heat’s still on as I type this. So I want to say a word of thanks and amazement for all of our regulars who come out each Saturday, even if it’s just for a short visit. Our vendors need to see you. And a word regarding our vendors as well…I’m sure you’ve noticed some empty spaces where you should have seen tents. Please know that some of our vendors trade in goods that cannot keep or even be made in such extreme heat…and that circumstance has been a prolonged and unhappy disruption to both their bottom line and our wish to spend our money there. So we wait for cooler days…anything under 95° would be nice. That said, we’ll still be here with foods and beverages…and tomatoes!!!!! …So, y’all come, y’heah? Maybe put BLTs on the menu.
Speaking of vendors, each week I suggest that you check the LFM schedule for who’s coming…(and you do right?) BUT to get the latest word, just read the schedule posted on the face of the Market newsletter. I tell you to read that also, and you do that too, right? Any changes will usually be made there.
If all goes according to plan, this week we welcome back Sasas Mix, selling banana bread mixes with a West African flair. Their last sojourn here was interrupted by Covid, so we wish them well this time around.
In the Artist Tent: Something new…Young Adult authors of young adult horror stories. Diana Rodriguez Wallach and Nicole M. Woverton are authors of, among other things, several young adult horror stories. Go, see, ask!
In the Music Tent: Saeed Abdul Samad presents Africa Rocks.
I hope all of you are staying safe and hydrated this week. We treasure you.
See you Saturday!
Terry B.