Sunday, August 05, 2007

Sicily, Tomatoes




What's Sicily got to do with tomatoes? What's tomatoes got to do with Sicily? Sicily is supposed to have the sweetest tomatoes in the world. So when I was there I bought a packet of tomato seeds and planted them in pots in my backyard. It has been a few months and I am waiting patiently to taste them. They are just now ripening as I document their progress. I've picked a few to sample and see if they are really sweet. They were not and I was feeling a little let down. So I decided to leave them on the vine longer. This morning I picked a really ripe one and it was very sweet. I think it is because they have a thicker skin and can be left on the vine longer. The longer they are allowed to ripen the sweeter they become. I have turn this into a science. In Sicily and Southern Italy the tomatoes doesn't have to travel a long way to get into the restaurants and onto your plate. So the ripe and sweet tomatoes is what you get on your plate and that experience is missing in our lives. I've been sharing my tomatoes with the sparrows and the bees. It's been a lot of fun. To think Sicily can still bring me so much joy months after my trip. Well, not just that I've been busy submitting article proposals on Sicily to a few newspapers and magazines.
So be reading for the further progress of the mystery of Sicilian tomatoes and if I can to do an article on Sicily.


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