Make tomatoes great again

Spanish tomatoes are visible from space

The man next to me on the terrace of my new favorite breakfast and lunch café is actually leafing through a paper newspaper, something I still rarely see in my village on the Mediterranean Sea. The smartphone has replaced paper here, too, but not for this seventy-something at the table next to me. The man now orders a tomato salad from the waitress and another white wine A luxury that, combined with my daily dose of medication, I have not been able to afford for a year and a half. The alcohol I mean, not the tomatoes, because I survived the past hot summer on ice-cold gazpacho. And ajoblanco, that other cold Andalusian soup, of garlic, almond flour, salt and, of course, olive oil, served with pieces of apple or grapes. The man next to me pricks some pieces of tomato, from which the olive oil drips, on his fork and clearly enjoys it.” Delicious tomatoes with a full flavor like the old days” he sighs out loud. I understand perfectly what he means, because I had had exactly the same tomato experience a few days ago, but at home during lunch. I said the same thing unasked to my neighbor and he nodded vehemently yes “ Si señor, you notice that here they still get their tomatoes from the local farmers and not from the supermarket.