It's summer, ripe-tomatoes-falling-off-the-vine summer. But at this particular Target the tomatoes could not have looked less tomato-y, or more disgusting. Barely red, hard, crunchy tomatoes. I sat there for a second, holding one of the sad excuses for a tomato in my hand, seriously questioning why such tomatoes even exist at this time of year, in California no less, the land of endless bounty. Disappointed, I gave up any tomato plans I had for the day. I had lost my appetite.
Fast forward to Awesome Day Eleven. The last two days were spent craving fresh, farmer's market tomatoes, like the kind we used to grow in the garden at home in Wisconsin. Or maybe even better...because I suddenly realized it was heirloom tomato season, one of the most delicious times of the whole year.
If you've never had an heirloom tomato, these tomatoes are unlike any you've ever had before. People who (sadly) utter the words, "I don't like tomatoes," have clearly never had an heirloom. Heirlooms are a lesson in seeing inner beauty--often bulging and brown and stripped and green, these tomatoes don't look like your average ripe-red plum tomato. But my God, they taste like heaven. Sweet, earthy, buttery, complex, juicy heaven.
On Awesome Day Eleven, I was on an heirloom hunt.
Cesar and I headed off to the Hollywood Farmers' Market, one of the many (Awesome) farmers' markets in Los Angeles. The Hollywood one is my personal fav for a few reasons--it's huge, it's a great change in the normal (dirty, little-hope-in-humanity) scenery of Hollywood, there are occasional brushes with fame (stay tuned), and it's set against the backdrop of the giant (creepy) Church of Scientology building.
Now, let's take a quick moment to rewind. If you've spent any time with me in the last seven years, you've probably heard my story about meeting Jake Gyllenhaal at the Hollywood Farmers' Market in 2006. I've never really been the type to crush on a celebrity; there were no JTT posters on my wall as a tween, no boy bands or movie stars or athletes ever caught my eye. I was always realistic in my pursuits (for the most part). But Jake Gyllenhaal--he's been the exception. Kinda ever since October Sky. He just seems...like a real human being. And he's supercute. Needless to say, ever since 2006, I have scanned the farmers' market crowd, thinking just maybe I'd see him again.
And my boyfriend knows this.
Back to Day Eleven: As I perused the various stands for the best heirlooms, picking up a couple ripe avocados along the way, Cesar taps me on the shoulder, "Your man Jake is behind you."
"Ha," I said, "Real funny."
"Ok," he replied, "But he's seriously right behind you. He's talking to that girl that was on that show Freaks and Geeks."
I turned around. I think I squealed (embarrassing). It had happened. Seven years later.
Now, I'd love to tell you that I had the courage to approach him again, that I asked him if we could take a quick selfie together for my Instagram feed and he said yes, and that we exchanged numbers so I could text it to him later--but, nope. Apparently my 19-year-old self had way more cahones than I do now. Instead, I just stalked him from the depths of a stand selling herbs for a creepily inappropriate amount of time, pretending to contemplate the rosemary and sage, while Cesar rolled his eyes and bought ceviche.
He is just so cute.
Maybe befriending Jake Gyllenhaal was a total failure, but I did leave with a couple of Awesome heirlooms that restored my somewhat destroyed faith in tomatoes after that Target experience.
And, to top it all off, we discovered a new addition to the Hollywood Farmers' Market--a Poem Store. This super-talented chick busts out (really good) poems while barely taking time to breathe in-between. As a customer, you choose the topic and the price, and she'll hand you a totally unique poem no more than two minutes later. Awesome.
Apparently the LA Times discovered her last week and wrote a pretty sweet piece about her, making the waiting line for a poem that much longer. But oh so worth it.
Here is the poem she wrote for me, about the Hollywood Farmers' Market. I love it.
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