I hate to admit it, but summer is over, and there's nothing that pains me worse than saying goodbye to the fresh produce of the summer months. Hasta la vista, strawberries, and hello, root veggies. Long time no see, freezer section. And the hardest goodbye, without a doubt, is tomatoes.

I've loved tomatoes since I rode a purple Cabbage Patch kid bike with training wheels. As a child, a salad for Lauren meant a side dish of tomato wedges, and my relationship with the reddest of fruits has only improved from there: marinara sauce... salsa... caprese salad... oh tomato, how I worship thee! How I long to see your crimson visage shining in my produce bowl! I swear to never put you in the refrigerator, lest your flushed cheeks not greet me every morn! I scoff at the mealy, pink-fleshed impostors of winter months. Your bleach-blond, silicon California cousins who travel many miles to the supermarket cannot fool my tongue. Come back to me next July, my love, and I shall not stray!

There is nothing... nothing... like the ripe, firm, succulent tomatoes of summer. Tomatoes so full of juice that they weigh their stalks to the ground. Tomatoes that beg to be eaten like apples, meaty, sweet and tangy.

With the last tomatoes of the season, I celebrated with the salad below. Its simplicity lets my favorite taste of summer shine in my memory. Same time, next year, tomatoes.

Tomato and Red Onion Salad
Two large, ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
1/2 a large red onion, halved and sliced
20 leaves fresh basil, shredded
A generous pinch of salt
Several cracks of fresh black pepper
Several glugs of red wine vinegar
A good drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients and let sit for 30 minutes to draw out juices. The vinegar will mellow the onion and highlight the tomato. Eat in one sitting; if you try to store it, you will get tomato soup. Share if you must.

Photo courtesy of Matthew.