Tomato Feta Salad -- What the Five Survivors Became

The tomato catastrophe. I am writing it down because I promised Mami I would write down everything.

Thursday I decided to tend the tomato plants by myself. Eduardo had a dentist appointment and would be out of the house for two hours. I had been watching him water and fertilize for six weeks. I thought: I can do this. I am Carmen Delgado-Ortiz. I have cooked for a hospital. I can water a tomato plant.

I went into the backyard at 10 AM. The six tomato plants were in the bed. The Brandywine was tallest. The Sungold was bushiest. The "Carmen" variety — the one named for me, the one I had promised to nurture — was the one in the middle, about four feet tall, with a dozen small green fruits and a spray of yellow flowers at the top.

I picked up the garden hose. I turned on the water. I sprayed the plants. I sprayed for about five minutes. It felt nice. I was watering things. This was the retirement that Eduardo had promised me.

Then I noticed, after about ten minutes, that the middle of the "Carmen" plant was sagging. I pulled the hose away. The leaves on the "Carmen" plant were flopping. I looked closer. I had blasted the stem with the hose at close range. The stem was cracked near the base. The plant was bending over. Within the next twenty minutes, as I watched, it slumped completely.

I killed the Carmen tomato. On the seventh week of retirement. With a garden hose. Using too much pressure. At close range.

Eduardo came home at noon. He looked at the backyard. He looked at me. I said, "Eduardo." He said, "Yes, Carmen." I said, "I killed the Carmen." He looked at the plant. He did not laugh. He did not cry. He said, "Okay." He said, "Carmen, you do not have to garden." I said, "I wanted to." He said, "You wanted to want to. That is different." He walked into the garage and came back with pruning shears. He cut the plant down. He composted it. He said, "The other five are fine. I will water them. You cook. We will divide the labor."

I went inside and made a tomato salad with the five Sungolds that had ripened overnight. It was a good salad. Eduardo ate it without speaking. At the end he said, "The tomatoes are excellent this year." I said, "Eduardo, I killed one." He said, "The five that are left are very good." He said, "Carmen, a woman who can kill a tomato plant with a garden hose in seven minutes is a woman who should stick to her own tools." He said it without malice. He said it with love. He was right. I laughed. He laughed. The Carmen tomato is in the compost. The five other tomatoes are thriving. I will write it all down in the notebook. Wepa.

The five Sungolds that ripened overnight deserved better than silence, so I gave them the simplest, most respectful thing I know how to do with a good tomato: I let them lead. This tomato feta salad is what I made that Thursday afternoon — nothing fussy, nothing that required a garden hose or any skill I do not already have. Eduardo ate every bite without a word, and in this house, that is the highest praise a salad can receive.

Tomato Feta Salad

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups cherry or Sungold tomatoes, halved
• 2 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Prep the tomatoes. Halve the cherry tomatoes and cut the vine-ripened tomatoes into wedges. Place all tomatoes in a wide, shallow serving bowl.
2. Add the aromatics. Scatter the sliced red onion over the tomatoes. Add the torn basil leaves.
3. Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, salt, and pepper until combined.
4. Dress and finish. Drizzle the dressing evenly over the salad. Scatter the crumbled feta on top. Toss gently once or twice — you want the tomatoes coated but the feta to stay in visible pieces.
5. Rest and serve. Let the salad sit for 5 minutes at room temperature so the tomatoes absorb the dressing. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 130 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 7g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 310mg