Just one tomato

Actually, there were eight. I kept two for myself and gave the rest to the neighbours who lent us their garden for free, no strings attached, 15 years ago. I ate my second tomato for lunch on an English muffin, with cream cheese and cracked black pepper, olive oil and salt.

It was the kind of rich simplicity in food that chaiselongue would have liked. I was thinking of her and Lo Jardinier today because it's exactly a year since their joyous joint birthday party. I'm sure Teleri would have incorporated a single tomato into one of her lovely, richly coloured and evocative kitchen blips. But I like this minimalism, highlighting the perfection of this summer fruit.