It’s a day I await – a celebration, in fact. The “First “Mater Sandwich of the Year” day. I rank it right up there with New Year’s Day and the Fourth of July. The actual day varies from year to year – depending on when that first plump tomato is picked from the vine. We have had cherry tomatoes and some smaller slicer tomatoes for a couple weeks, but on Monday, July 7th, one of my Better Boy Tomato plants came through with a beautiful “mater’. It was the day I had waited for.
The tomato was so beautiful I decided to forego the two strips of bacon I often assign to the task. Rather, I got out a couple pieces of fresh white bread, a jar of Duke’s Mayonnaise, my salt and pepper shakers and made my sammy.
It was a two-napkin sandwich, oozing with mayo and thick slabs of red-ripe tomato. I had to eat it over the sink and kept poking the “mater” back beneath the bread to keep the sandwich intact. It was not a pretty sight, but it was a great tomato sandwich. I will eat plenty more in the coming weeks, but the “First ‘Mater Sandwich of the Year” day was extra special.
