Cooking With Tomatoes

Mornings on the Rampion

"Fresh tomatoes? Are you sure?"

Wolf pulled her along faster. Scarlet had to run to keep up. "I have enhanced senses, remember? Trust me on this. There's a whole stash in the kitchen, and they're only a little battered!"

"A little battered?" Scarlet muttered as they dashed through the cargo bay. Cinder and Thorne, who were playing cards again, gave them strange looks as they passed. "After several panicked liftoffs and Iko engaging in battle with the soldiers ... no, I can't imagine why they would be a little battered."

Finally they arrived in the large kitchen. Wolf let go of her hand to dive behind the curved countertop and drag out a blue plastic cooler; Scarlet watched as he threw open the cooler's lid and beamed. Taking this as a good sign, she peered inside. "Oh!"

Twenty or so tomatoes were nestled inside, round and red and in better shape than Scarlet could have hoped for. She clapped. "They're perfect!"

"I know." Wolf sounded almost smug. "I'm not sure how they survived. I think they may have been in the fridge at one point, but someone moved them to the cooler." Wolf reached inside and plucked out a tomato. He turned it over in his hands, as though examining a miracle.

Scarlet rested her elbows on the counter. "What should we do with them?"

Her heart skipped a beat at Wolf's mischievous smile. He looked as playful and carefree as Scarlet had ever seen him when he said, "I have a few ideas."

* * * * *

"Tomato pancakes?" Cinder crossed her arms. "This should be interesting."

 Scarlet set the plate of pancakes on the kitchen counter and took her seat. The other three had already sat down. "I've been teaching Wolf a few cooking tricks." She exchanged a glance with him, and he grinned back. This sudden tomato discovery seemed to have given him a burst of energy and lightheartedness she wouldn't have though possible for him.

They each tried a pancake.

Thorne chewed thoughtfully before swallowing rather forcefully. "Interesting. Who cooked this, again?"

"I did," Wolf said proudly, seemingly oblivious to Cinder's sudden coughing fit; she looked like she was choking on something. Scarlet found that she couldn't blame her. It seemed that tomatoes — like vegetables in general — just weren't meant to be put in breakfast foods.

Air whooshed through the life support system as Iko sighed. "I wish I could taste some."

"No, you don't," said Thorne. He sounded like he was restraining a laugh. "Trust me."

* * * * *

Scarlet ladled hot soup into four bowls before setting the big pot aside. She really, really hoped that this would taste a little better than the pancakes, the salad and the sandwiches — for Wolf's confidence as much as the crew's health.

Cinder walked into the kitchen, dusting off her hands. "What's for lunch?"

"Tomato soup."

Cinder grimaced a little. "Scarlet, are you sure that —"

Thorne sauntered in — "Bonjour, mademoiselle" — and swooped a bowl of soup to his place on the counter. He got through exactly one spoonful before his eyes widened and he started to cough. Cinder hit him a couple of times on the back, evidently dislodging whatever was in his throat.

Scarlet eyed him warily. "Something wrong?"

"Tomato skin," Thorne gasped. "Everywhere. Gah . Water!" He dashed away.

Scarlet glanced at Cinder, who shuffled awkwardly. "Um ... I think I'll go make myself a sandwich."

* * * * *

Scarlet found Wolf sitting with the cooler by his feet in the kitchen, looking morose. She sat down beside him. "The cooking thing isn't going so great, huh?"

He sighed. "No. I try to think of new ways that I could use the tomatoes, but it turns out worse and worse every time. I'm a terrible cook." He opened the cooler and gazed mournfully into it. "There are only two tomatoes left, Scarlet. Two."

A few heartbeats passed as the dire situation sank in for both of them. Then Scarlet said, "You know, there's one thing you haven't thought of."

"What?"

"You haven't thought of the simplest tomato-eating method of all." She scooped the last two tomatoes out of the cooler and handed one to him. "One for me, and one for you."

Wolf cradled the tomato in his huge hands, looking at it as though it was the most precious thing in the world. Scarlet watched as her meaning dawned on him, as a rare smile spread over his features like a ray of sunlight.

He met her eyes. In unspoken agreement, they touched their tomatoes together in the imitation of a toast and each took a bite. The fresh juice dribbled down Scarlet's chin, but she didn't care: she knew that Wolf, like her, was remembering his visit to her farm — how they'd shared tomatoes. These may not have been her home-grown vegetables, but they were still fabulous.

The clomping of boots announced Thorne's arrival. He froze when he saw them grinning madly over a pair of partially squished tomatoes, and his expression was confused enough to make them burst out laughing — so hard that Scarlet felt a stitch in her side.

Thorne squinted at them. "Am I missing something here?"

"No," Scarlet gasped, trying to catch her breath. "It's an inside joke."