Tomatoes and Blueberries

If my cupboards are bare and my fridge has only condiments, I probably still have tomatoes and blueberries. I love them in salad, apart or together, on sandwiches, in cereal or yogurt, raw or cooked. My favorite fruits.

Blueberries. Many other fruits have the versatility of the blueberry, perfect for a pie, cake but few have the durability and portability of the blueberry. I've taken blueberries all over the place in a plastic container in my pear covered lunch bag. They never get mushed by each other as raspberries or strawberries often do. And what other fruit is actually blue? or at least deep purple? Who could resist blueberries on pancakes or french toast. Yum. I bet most people share my affinity for blueberries, but tomatoes? They are such a controversial food. My own dear sister, had a period where she refused tomato sauce on pizza and drove my mother crazy having her alter her recipes so that they didn't have tomatoes on or in them. I think I love them more than most people.

I had a lovely meal over at my friend (and neighbor really) Claire's a while ago. I looked at what she had in her fridge and we decided to make a yummy southwestern salad. I was surprised that she didn't have any tomatoes and even more so when she asked me at the store to pick them out because she didn't know what to look for. It got me thinking...Doesn't everyone eat tomatoes on salad and every sandwich they make? I guess that I could probably eat all the lovely red and yellow cherry tomatoes that grow on my mother's 8 tomato plants is probably an indication of how much I love them. I had tomatoes on my sandwich and am dreaming of the juicy heirloom tomatoes at the Grand Lake farmer's market. I missed the Farmer's market today due to work, watching, I mean running the lights at the Jewish Film Festival. Come to think of it the farm that sells the most sweet deliciously delicate blueberries are in season right now. I've missed them too. What will I do? Wait another week?! well okay. (Thankfully I have a short supply of both from Safeway to tide me over.) So concludes part 1 of my multipart series on why I love tomatoes and blueberries. (Joking, gentle reader, joking!)

I just finished reading Michael Pollan's great piece about the commercialism of food and cooking, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/magazine/02cooking-t.html?em
It got me thinking. I used to cook all the time, I used to eat predominantly fruits and vegetables, which I do believe is Mr. Pollan's thesis. .After an extremely productive and positive year of changing my eating and cooking most of my meals, (thanks to weight watchers, realizing how expensive it is to eat out all the time and exercise), I lost a considerable amount of weight. Forty pounds to be exact. And then the great plateau began. I lost my motivation. I lost my drive to cook, to eat heathy, to exercise. I didn't forget the extent of my learning, I just got lazy. I was tired of being trapped eating what is healthy and not eating what I wanted (which is of course how I started gaining the weight in the first place.) I took a break. It is perfectly reasonable and rational.

Two months and I am done with my vacation. I love to eat and a love to cook. I love to eat with others. I need to learn how to manage eating healthfully when I am busy at work. I have a semi busy time before I embark on working on the biggest show I've ever worked on. I'm going to be busy busy busy, but gentle reader, I promise to you that I will eat healthfully and I will write about it in this lovely forum. I've been enjoying all this micro blogging I have been doing on facebook, and I am ready to start, yet another blog. I'm excited about this one. I am always looking for new recipes and stories, feel free to leave them in the comments!