Toe, toe, toe-MAY-toe…and donuts

That’s how my tomato song goes (much like my potato song). I was singing it a lot today when I went to the farmers market to get ingredients for dinner. My mom’s partner and I decided to go to the market, find ingredients we like, and figure out a recipe to make. It’s fun stuff. For some reason I’ve recently had cravings for tomatoes, and there were tons and tons of them out today. And so many colors! I decided to buy some Japanese black tomatoes because they’re crazy looking.

look at all those tomatoes!

early girl tomatoes? i don't know what that means.

Also, before I went to the farmers market, we stopped at Psycho Donuts, where I got this crazy Feng Shui donut: green tea glaze, chocolate chips, and powdered sugar. I had a discussion a while back with some friends in NYC about donuts. Most people I know who aren’t from California claim Dunkin’ Donuts or Krispy Kremes to be their favorite/the best donuts. There’s a donut place in the Lower East Side that my friend liked (Doughnut Plant?), and he’d always bring different donuts back for us to try. To me, they were nothing new – they were the way I’ve always known donuts to be.

it's triangular! at least before i took a bite out of it.

I grew up with a mom and pop donut shop in Newark, California, which always made their donuts big and fluffy and delicious. When I was in 5th or 6th grade, a Krispy Kreme opened in Union City, and people would wait for at least an hour to get donuts in the morning. When I finally saw one, I thought “Really? That’s it?” tried it, and I was just as disappointed – they’re dense, they’re way too sugary, and nothing like what a donut should be. In high school my friend and I would go to the Happy Donuts on El Camino Real at 2 A.M. because that’s when they had freshly chocolate glazed donuts. My friends told me that the only non-commercial donuts they’d ever had were from the grocery store.

So if you know of a small, independent donut shop, please go there instead of Dunkin’ Donuts or Krispy Kreme. Have a real donut. Spread the wealth. Rid yourself of ignorance.