The fruits of a summer of work are coming in now. This afternoon I made myself a tomato sandwich. I had never heard of such a thing until someone told me a couple years ago about a Southern tradition; tomatoes, mayonnaise and white bread. It only works if you use a fresh picked, ripe tomato and luckily I have a few of those around. Me, being a Northerner, I used wheat bread and Miracle Whip. I hope the traditionalists reading this won’t be outraged.

I was especially decadent by slicing my tomato thick (I don’t own one of those Jinsang knives that slices a ripe tomato paper thin) and using the whole tomato in the sandwich. I didn’t want to share with anyone!

This is the kind of sandwich you eat over the kitchen sink. For two reasons. One you just know it’s going to run down your chin and off your elbows, and two, it’s too good to wait to find a plate and sit down at a table.

If tomato sandwiches really are Southern tradition then here’s another reason to celebrate the South!