Food (Part 3 of 3) Tomatos ARE Vegetables

The men are cleaning up after dinner while the women who made the meal relax and joke about us.

My granddaugther Natasha is hanging around the men in the kitchen.

"Grandpa, what's your favourite vegetable?" she asks.

"Tomatoes" I tell her.

"Tomatoes aren't vegetables," my brother Keith complains knowingly, handing me another dish to dry. "They're fruits."

"Tomatoes ARE vegetables," my youngest daughter Heather interrupts, coming into the kitchen with in six more dishes for us to wash.

Since she has a degree in Environmental Science, my brother thinks about his reply for a moment, knowing there's some unforeseen trap and he's in it, somehow.

"No, he replies cautiously. "They are fruits, like apples."

"Apples are vegetables too," my daughter smiles.

Now my brother knows there is a trap set to close. He hands me another dish to dry.

"Apples can't be vegetables," he challenges, cautiously.

"What are vegetables?" Heather asks.

"You know, cabbages, celery, carrots."

"Cabbages are leaves. Celery is a stalk. Carrots are roots."

"So"

"Of a vegetable."

"Yes"

"Tomatoes are the fruit. Of a vegetable."

"Okay."

"Vegetables are edible vegetation. Why should we deny that tomatoes are a part of that category. What else are they? They are just a part of a vegetable, the same as a leaf or a stem or a root."

"You can go back and join the women now," Keith said.

Heather stuck her tongue out at him.

Natasha laughed. "You're funny mommy," she said.

***********************************************************
You may recall my meeting with a coyote a few weeks back.

Lindsay and I stumbled on a kill zone and as we stood in disbelief I discovered a coyote standing behind us. Watching us intently.

Or at least, staring at Lindsay hungrily.

It was finally distracted by another group of dog walkers and took off.

Well, my coyote is now a TV star having made the evening news after killing a dog in a backyard. The video includes pictures of the coyote.

The video isn't embedded but you will find a link to it: HERE.

**************************************************************
Tomato image courtesy of photopbucket