Tomato and Mayo Sandwich

The Tomato and Mayo Sandwich. Each of us can blurt out many things that “Summer is”. “Summer is” the beach, farmers markets, cook outs, long walks, baseball, vacation, good reads, s’mores, bike rides, cicadas, crabs, etc.! But one more thing to add to the list is the good ole Tomato and Mayonnaise Sandwich. Remember? Tomatoes picked fresh off the vine while still sunny warm, gobs of cold mayo, salt and pepper on two shingles of stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth Wonder™ bread. Memory lane heaven. When I was a little, little girl my folks tended a garden in the backyard and would let me eat the warm tomatoes right off the vine just as one would eat an apple. Their juices dripped from my chin rolling down off my elbows, the taste was happiness. Now that I’m a grown up foodie I still love my dog days of summer splurge but with a mature twist. The same vine-ripened, thinly sliced tomatoes but now tucked between just-born artisan bread, fresh ground course sea salt and black peppercorns, and pungent basil from my kitchen step herb garden. “Summer is” the Tomato and Mayo Sandwich all grown up.


Epilogue: Once, I offered hubby one of these blissful sandwiches to go with fresh guacamole and corn chips. He agreed but he would have his sandwich with peanut butter too please, “oh and by the way I really don’t like guacamole, never had.” I was rendered speechless, downright dumbfounded, reeling at the epiphany that I had married, for life even, someone who ate food, any food, for the sole purpose of filling his pie hole minus any desire for sapidity.