Oh, and the Israeli tomatoes are supposed to be great (according to, well, whomever actually likes the vile things), so it's definitely a 'me' thing.

Yeah, so you probably wouldn't mind most US tomatoes -- they have no smell, no flavor, and a completely different texture.

There are a lot of things I don't/can't eat because I don't like the smell, so I understand that, Nilly.

Attention!

Today is Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday/the day before Ash Wednesday! Go get yourself a Paczki or two. Mmmmmm.

I always vaguely wondered, seeing them in grocery stores, if someone was trying to pull my leg, selling weeds as food.

Well, they're ferns not weeds. Or ARE ferns weeds?

Anything growing where you don't want it to is a weed, no?

Yeah, so you probably wouldn't mind most US tomatoes -- they have no smell, no flavor, and a completely different texture.

Maybe your city tomatoes are like that, but out here in tomato farm country tomatoes are all about the flavor.

From Steph's link...

"We're not even Polish," owner Mena Castriciano said.

BWAH!

erika, it's the flavor, too. There are a few things in the world that can get such a strong response from me like an innocent raw tomato.

so you probably wouldn't mind most US tomatoes -- they have no smell, no flavor, and a completely different texture

IIRC, I didn't come into any close encounter with a tomato when I was in the USA, so I couldn't check that. Next time, then.

Fresh sliced tomato smells like ... well ... nothing much.

Uh, that's only true of bad out of season force-grown tomatoes. Proper ones - which require to be fresh and grown in the right climate so you get them only in season - smell of heaven. Which is a shame for nilly, of course, as she'll have to hold her nose for eternity, but them's the breaks.

"We're not even Polish," owner Mena Castriciano said.

BWAH!

Heh. But it's true -- you don't have to be Polish to enjoy Paczki!