Black Brandywine Tomato

I'm interrupting our regularly scheduled programming (the Mardi Gras party for 24x24) to show you an incredible tomato.  It's called a Black Brandywine

I started to fix myself some cottage cheese and tomato for lunch and stopped when I picked up this tomato.  Plopped it into the cottage cheese and took some photos.  Believe you me, this tomato tastes every bit as good as it looks.  To my way of thinking, it's the perfect tomato. 

Here's the story.  Back in about 1999, I bought one of these guys at a local garden center.  Planted it in the garden.  I was in the old house then and had a HUGE garden. 

The plant produced and produced and produced.  Now, back then I also had a dog by the name of Sallie.  She was part border collie and part Nervous Nellie.  I got her when some clients captured her in the midst of a very busy intersection downtown.  They thought she looked like my Maggie dog.  She kinda did in that they both were black with white vests.  Well, anyway, Sallie loved tomatoes.  No, that's not enough emphasis.  She LOVED tomatoes.  It was always a race to see who'd get them first. I'd think I'd leave one on the vine just one more day and then I'd wish I'd picked it earlier because herself would be stretched out in the middle of the backyard chewing on my tomato.  So, I had tomato seeds ALL over the back yard. 

The next year, I went back to get another Black Brandywine.  Bill said he was really sorry but they just didn't sell so he didn't grow any.  I was beyond bummed.  Then, in the middle of one of the flower beds, there it was - a volunteer.  From then on, I made sure to scatter seeds and hope for volunteers. 

Sallie died of a stroke Feb 16, 2004.  She was only 10.  I missed her terribly and missed her helping seed my yard.  Time marched on and there weren't any more volunteers.  I met Connie and a few years later he sold his house and I sold my house and we moved in here.  I still tried to find the elusive Black Brandywine.  Finally, eureka, he found one advertised in a magazine last year.  He ordered it.  Talk about nirvana.  The first one that was ripe was an incredible treat.  I remember standing in the back yard eating it straight from the vine.  Wonderful. 

This year, once again, we couldn't find the plants.  But, we got lucky and had a volunteer come up.  So, here's the second Black Brandywine of the season.  You guessed it.  The first never made it into the house!