Summer isn't summer without tomato sandwiches. And this has not been much of a summer. Blight, unbearable humidity, and planting plants in the least-light-getting spot in the garden (oops) all contributed to a year that made liars out of otherwise honest tomatoes. Big Boys were tiny, Golianths were Davids, Cherries were grapes. Even Better Boys did worse. It's fine. Live and learn. Learn to plant more wisely, to weed more often, to use anti-blight chemicals despite the warnings from our organic-leaning buddies (I won't tell if you don't).
But here's the thing: I think the plants we had last year spoiled me. They were over my head and dripping with fruit. It was more than we could eat and way more than I deserve. The few fruits we picked this year, the ones that ripened without getting blighted or eaten by an animal I'd kill if on site, were such a treat. I had almost forgotten what a home-grown tomato sandwich tasted like. Partly because of the lack of suitable tomatoes and partly because we ran out of Duke's early in the season and kept forgetting to get more. And without Duke's what's the point?
Today everything changed. I brought home a jar from the store, picked out a couple ripe-yet-puny-looking tomatoes and went to work. Score, score, score!!!
[caption id="attachment_413" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The King returns"]
Even though this wasn't an Official Tomato Sandwich (we didn't have the requisite white bread, having to use wheat instead), this knockoff was good enough to make me forget about my brown thumb for a few minutes. Worth it.