|
|
|
my Uncle Bill was a veteran of World War II … his old platoon-mates are reunioning this weekend, they claim, for the last time (‘though they’ve said this for the last 10 years or so) … there are only a handful of them left on earth …
I think of Uncle Bill every time I walk through the bread aisle at the supermarket … he was always looking for good bread to pair with tomatoes … Uncle Bill loved tomatoes, but he learned to love them thickly covered with mayonnaise, sprinkled heavily with salt, and pressed between slices of processed white bread … that was all that was available to him in his day … no one thought, so many years ago, that processed food was a bad thing … nor full fat mayo or salt … nor the tough, dry, pink tomatoes forced from the earth with chemicals … consumers accepted them because they were plentiful and inexpensive after the deprivations of war …
Today when I see a glorious loaf of warm whole wheat ciabatta, I think of Uncle Bill … I wonder how he’d like thick-cut heirloom tomatoes with the colors and flavor rediscovered, a light shower of coarse sea salt, and homemade mayo made with a food processor, Eggbeaters, and full-fruit extra-virgin olive oil ..
Author and culinary school teacher Linda Bassett provides recipes for and tips on the season’s freshest ingredients. She is the author of "From Apple Pie to Pad Thai: Neighborhood Cooking North of Boston." Reach her by email at KitchenCall@aol.com.
