Oh tomato. How I love thee. I'll admit, it wasn't always love. It wasn't even friendship to begin with. In fact, I've been a tomato skeptic most of my life, always requesting "no tomatoes" on my sandwiches, tacos, and burgers. But now I know that aversion was only because I had not experienced the Tennessee tomato in all its glory. Once I sunk my teeth into a slice of a perfectly ripe heirloom tomato (purchased because it was too darn beautiful not to) and sprinkled with a bit of sea salt, I changed my tune right then and there. Perhaps it's the hot and humid summers, intensifying the sugars and making for the sweetest, juiciest tomatoes ever. Maybe it's the fertile soil. Or the soggy air. Or the Southern hospitality that makes Tennessee tomatoes unlike any other. Whatever it is, all I know is when they start appearing in the markets in June, I can't get enough of them. Sure, I'm looking forward to the welcome relief of cooler temperatures and lower humidity come autumn. But I'd gladly

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