you say 'tomato', I say RUN

Let me start with...I like tomatoes. I like slices on burgers. I like them in salads. I have no real problem with tomatoes. What I have a problem with is tomato plants, and the people who grow them, starting with my parents.

My issue is the number of tomatoes that come off the average tomato plant, and the inability of the owners of those plants to consume what they produce. The inevitable result of that is the arrival of the tomato pusher. You know who I'm talking about because if you aren't one, you've run into them.

"You like tomatoes, don't you? Here, please take this truckload off my hands."

Every time I see my parents, I get more tomatoes thrust on me than I will eat in a year. I have neighbors who are the same way. They get insulted if I won't take their tomatoes. I don't know how grocery stores sell any in the summer. I haven't purchased a tomato in eons (or, OK...since February). I throw away more than I eat. They keep giving me suggestions on how I could serve/eat even more tomatoes and to be honest...I'm not that crazy about them. I like them with certain other foods, but I don't just pick up a tomato and eat it. I wish I did. My summer grocery bill would drop to almost nothing.