Chili

Hi Mom,
I made chili for dinner tonight, and as an homage to you, I put the tomatoes in whole, which I hated when I was a kid. They always seemed kind of gross to me when their skin falls off and you can see the veins of the tomato, all exposed and simmering in the soup, like some sort of exotic sea animal. I remember leaving them swimming in the bottom of the bowl whenever you made your famous chili, and seeing you scoop them up behind us. There must have been a reason- perhaps you knew that tomatoes actually have more vitamin C than oranges and you celebrated their wholeness, their juiciness, their sweetly acidic quality. Whatever the reason, I put whole tomatoes in my chili tonight and it's delicious! Thanks Mom. I love you.