Hella Heirloom Tomato
Our heirloom tomatoes are finally doing their thing –
that’s the good news. The bad news is that we won’t have a big crop this year.
2017 just wasn’t the year for tomatoes. Still, the one my husband picked last
night is gorgeous. Look:
I love the gnarly, misshapen and totally imperfect
appearance of a homegrown garden tomato. Those flawless, glistening globes we find
at the market all look like they came from the same copybook. Commercially-produced vegetables – as unblemished and picture-perfect as they
appear – are a far, far cry from the organic, super-fresh, nutritionally alive,
garden-to-table greatness of our own amazing veggies. A market tomato is mushy,
gritty, sterile, and tasteless. A garden tomato is firm, sweet, smooth, and
bright – everything a tomato should be.
Today’s lunch will be this tomato, sliced and spread with
Veganaise and placed between two slices of rustic bread, and sprinkled with a
little pink salt. This is my very favorite summer garden treat. And since I
only get about four to six weeks to enjoy it, they’ll be tomato sandwiches on
the menu pretty constantly until nearly the end of September.
There’s a Buddhist Foundation that will send, at your
request, up to five Dharma publications and other materials, free of charge, to
your home. Although most materials are printed in Chinese, many select books
have accompanying English translations. They also offer a selection of materials
in Tibetan, French, Hindi, and other languages.
From time to time, I request one to a few books. I just
received delivery of a book called, ‘Protection for Living Beings’, a
translation of Chinese Buddhist Master Hong Yi’s proverbs on compassion toward
animals, illustrated beautifully by one of Yi’s devoted students. It contains
inspiring fictional short stories that illustrate the possibility for loving
connections between human and non-human animals.
In the same delivery, I also received a beautiful hardcover
copy of The Lotus Sutra, and an autobiography of the Chinese Zen Master Xu Yun
– a book I’ve been wanting to read for a while.
The Buddha Educational Foundation is headquartered in Taipei
City, Taiwan. Although they’ll send for free anything you request, they will
accept donations to support the work of the monks. If you can’t afford to give,
no problem. Just fill out the request form and submit it by email, and within a
few weeks, the books will be delivered to your home anywhere in the world.
The foundation asks that if you finish a book and don’t
plan on reading it again, to pass it along to someone who could use it; but
don’t throw it away. Treat these precious Dharma materials with the respect
they deserve.
Check them out at budaedu.org. It’s a great service for
Buddhists and those studying the Dharma, it’s incredibly generous, and it’s
much appreciated.
Much love,
Barbie xo
