Summer Tomatoes

Round and red - or green, or yellow, or brown - it really doesn't matter. Summer tomatoes are the best things on earth, even when they come shaped like the head of a puffin.

Slice into them and they are red all the way through - or green, or yellow, or brown. Or sometimes blushed with other colors. No underripe shoulders. No cardboard textures. Just rich, sweet flavor all the way through.

My favorite way to eat them, at least the small, palm-sized ones, is to bite into one of the sections, sip out the seeds and juice, then move on to the next section, continuing around until all the chambers are empty, then nibble all the rest until nothing is left but the little dry belly button. There is no need for embellishment - the tomato is food and drink all in the same tidy package.

If I was a poet, I would write an ode to summer tomatoes. Since I'm not, I'm just gonna eat them until I burst or they are finished for the year, whichever comes first.