She was a Hot Tomato

Anyone else out there love tomatoes the way I do – passionately?
by Charlie Leck

This is really going to be a blog about tomatoes – the real ones that grow on vines – but I can’t resist, first, telling you about this other hot tomato.

The morning wake-up alarm went off yesterday at four in the morning, my wife shut it off and we both began to shake ourselves awake. We like to remain there for ten or fifteen minutes and talk about the day and evening ahead and kind of plan things out. Of course, yesterday was my big 70th birthday so I got a nice peck on the cheek and we spent a little time chatting about how grateful we were to have each other.

I told the old girl how sweet she was and how lucky I was to have her as a pal as well as a wife. I admitted to being a bit worried, however.

“I don’t really notice other women anymore,” I told her. “I’m not attracted to them or stirred by them and that seems strangely abnormal.”

She said something about how sad it would be if I lost that edge.

I went on to tell her how strange it seemed to be, by recounting an exception that seemed so much sharper and more sensual because it was the deviation from the rule. My explanation went something like this...

I returned that rental car on Monday, you know. I parked it in the return lot and as I was climbing out of it, checking to make sure I had everything, I heard someone sweetly wish me a good morning. I straightened up and noticed a smashingly beautiful, young woman walking by. She smiled so nicely at me, with these big, dark and sparkling eyes, and passed quickly on by, heading in the same direction I had to go to turn in the keys. So, of course, I followed along behind her, needing to quicken my normal pace to stay close.

She had been remarkably beautiful as she approached and passed me, but now, from behind, I was captivated by the wonder of her body and the way it swayed as only some few women can make a body swing. I got the feeling that she knew my eyes were fastened on her. She seemed to be making an extra effort to please or tease me. It was all innocent enough, but extraordinarily great fun for a guy about to turn 70.

When she entered the same door toward which I was heading, she paused and held it open for me and, as I passed her, she gave me the most remarkably beautiful smile and batting of the eyes. I felt like I might melt.

When I got to the rental desk, ready to give up the keys to the car, I looked back, behind me, to catch one more glimpse of her, but she was gone – down some labyrinthian hallway or into some anonymous office. Gone!

She was some hot tomato; and for just a moment there she had made me feel much younger again and I appreciated it.

Ò

Brett Laidlaw, on Trout Caviar, posted the most remarkable blog on Wednesday about heirloom tomatoes. He’s a wonderful blogger and I try to never miss any of his postings, but this one was particularly good. I really urge you to read it [click here]. Sometime in this coming year I think we are going to see a book from Brett and I can’t wait. You can bet I'll tell you about it.

I’m into devouring tomatoes now. The season is short for these beauties and I can never quite get my fill of them. If you’re local, you should know about Two Pony Gardens and the incredible heirlooms they grow over there. They’ve a little self-service store set up and you can drive in, pick out what you want and leave the money for them after you weigh them on their little scale.

I swear, even to a steak lover like I, there is nothing as good as a wonderful tomato.

Last night I prepared an eggplant and tomato dinner. No breading on the eggplant (I'm staying away from glutens these days). I kept it simple and plain.

• I prepared an egg batter and seasoned it with kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, some parsley, basil and a generous bit of turmeric (wonderfully health for us)
  
  
• Then I dipped slices of peeled eggplant in the batter and allowed them to soak for a short time (10 seconds or so)
  
  
• I fried the eggplant in a really good, hot olive oil, turning the slices once, and topping them for the last minute with generous, thick slices of tomatoes (that I had also seasoned with a bit of salt and a touch of garlic powder) and covered the pan for that minute
  
  
• I served the above with a little, fresh green salad with my own salad dressing made from an exciting vinegar and super-virgin olive oil

Tomatoes simply make wonderful summer-time eating and there are thousands of ways to serve them.


Heirloom tomatoes from Two Pony Gardens in Long Lake, Minnesota

If you’ve got exciting tomato recipes, share them with me.

___________________________

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Seven Decades and None the Wiser

On the eve of my birthday, I slouch in wonder at how little I know and how baffled I am!
by Charlie Leck

I had the pleasure of being a guest at a remarkable dinner party on Saturday night (two evenings ago) at Two Pony Gardens. Chef Daniel Kline, who recently returned to Minnesota after working at some of the world’s most distinguished restaurants, prepared a remarkable four course meal that may have brought me more pleasures of flavor and taste than I have ever experienced in my life. Someone told me that Kline now plies his skills at a south Minneapolis restaurant call Tratoria Tosca. I’ve never eaten there, but the web page makes me want to try it. The dinner, however, was only one of the highlights of a totally remarkable evening. Though the evening’s setting was rustic and not always the most comfortable (there are some tiny, weak legged chairs, and some people sit on benches at the table, and half the crowd ate on a screened porch on a very chilly day), the surroundings and company were extraordinarily pleasant and enjoyable.

The company (that is, the other diners), with whom I sat and enjoyed this sumptuous feast, was the really amazing highlight of the experience. What absolutely remarkable people! I was trying all evening to tune in to so many of the conversations. It was like having one’s sense of curiosity absolutely over-stimulated.

Bob and Debby Wolk were at our table. A wonderful story about the Wolks and their generosity toward their neighbors recently appeared in the Minneapolis StarTribune. To celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, they gave rain gardens to everyone on their southwest Minneapolis block. My goodness! The story is well worth reading.

Steve Kaplan was also down at our end of the table. It’s quite remarkable to lean one’s head in his direction to nosily listen in on some of his conversations. I’d like to get to know him better. Someone whispered in my ear that he’s the editor of a magazine I often go to for research and references – Minnesota Law and Politics.

Suzanne Weinstein, the owner of Coastal Seafoods of Minneapolis, was also off to my right. Before dinner, over cocktails, I got the opportunity to talk to her for a while about her exciting business. What a work-horse Suzanne is. The fish business isn’t easy and it really depends on immediate and constant attention. She makes lots of trips to the airport to pick up fresh fish. It’s one of my favorite places to shop in our region. If you don’t know about it, you should. I wondered, as I thought about it, if the proper plural isn’t really seafood – you know, ‘Coastal Seafood.’ Don’t worry about it, however!

Daniel, Suzanne’s husband, is a very gentle man and he was a marvelous guy with whom to chat. The two of them live in the same neighborhood as one of our kids and we only learned, after the dinner party, that they know each other quite well.

Carolyn Bell, a writer, photographer and teacher at the distinguished Breck School, wanted to know about my blog and ended up wondering if the correct plural shouldn’t really be Ad Astrae. Don’t worry about it!

Carolyn and her husband, Ed, were delightful dining partners and I leaned so much about the Twin Cities and life just because I was so fortunate to sit next to them. Carolyn quizzed me about the subject matter of my blog and I again found myself challenged to explain it. “Eclectic,” some of my friends refer to it, dragging out that over-used, hackneyed and questionable word. I guess it is. Don’t worry about it!

“Rage,” I told Carolyn, in trying to explain the blog. I should, more probably, call it my ramblings. It’s difficult to explain to anyone that these are just an assembly of my memoirs that my grandchildren may one day be interested in reading – when they are in that phase (one we all go through) that leaves them curious about the stock from which they came.

Carolyn took lots of photographs and I wish I had a few that I could share with you on this blog. Maybe later. Don’t worry about it, though.

Ed Bell is a realtor for CB Burnet and he is the quiet partner in this relationship and prefers to let Carolyn do the chatting. He holds architecture degrees from both the U of MN and Berkeley.

Lisa Ringer, the owner of Two Pony Gardens, was our hostess. She devotes so much of her life to trying to help others. She’s a real inspiration to me. The proceeds of the evening go to YELL (Youth Environmental Learning & Laws, as I remember it), one of her favorite charities. I wish I could tell you more about YELL. I know the organization brings kids out to Lisa’s farm and she teaches them about healthy, good, organic food and also about some of the secrets of growing good food and flowers. I’ll learn more and make it the topic of one of my future blogs.

An evening like this, where I was surrounded by new and exciting information and knowledge, just makes my head spin. I’ll be 69 tomorrow and I realize I’ve been at all this for seven decades now and there is still so much I don’t know. It excites me, however, to realize there are so many extraordinary and wonderful people in the world. I wish I had met more of those at Lisa's dinner party and I wish I could have learned more about those that I did meet.

So many fascinating people and so little time to meet them all!

If you’re a local, be sure to go to one of Lisa’s remarkable dinners. Another one is coming up on October 10th. You’ll be amazed by the food and also by the people who dine there. There's also a Dahlia Festival on September 19th. You can learn more at her web site.