Learning to Like Tomatoes

So I'm 33 years old minus 9 days. Grown up enough not to whine about my own pickiness, right? I remember a few of those moments when food I didn't like was placed in front of me and I had to suck it up and chew, and smile, gosh darnit. There are some things which I think I may never like. Curry. Walnuts in pastries. I've given sushi a good, solid try since childhood (one of my close friends was Japanese). Coconut (with the exception of coconut flavor. I could go for a pina colada right! this! second!).

But then there are the foods that I think have been worth learning to like. Coffee, for example. Calorie-free, easily accessible, and socially useful. Now that I'm nursing, I'm drinking only decaf, but the action of sipping my morning brew is cathartic. Almost like I think a cigarette might be, only without all the deadly stuff. And because I am drinking Swiss-water decaf, it doesn't carry any of the scariness of chemical decaf. And no calories!! Did I mention that?? It took me several years in college of triple choclate mochas, then down to lattes, then Americanos with cream, and now I just like me the plain stuff. I love it HOT, and I love to sip it all morning long.

So now I am working on tomatoes. My dad hated them when I was a kid, and it was kind of a big joke in the family. Plus once when I was a kid I thought it would be fun to work a day in the cafeteria (you got to leave class early), and they served canned stewed tomatoes in the hot lunch line. Ew. No wonder I've been off tomatoes. But as I've grown up, I learned to appreciate the many iterations of tomatoes. Tomato sauce, salsa, dishes made with tomato paste in them. So I'm on a mission to learn to like tomatoes in the next 10 years. Start slow, incorporate bits here and there. Guys, I ate a sandwich with a tomato in it last week. And it was good! So are you proud of me??

Wow, ramble, ramble.