Is this the end of joy? Or the beginning? The fridge is sterile white, empty except for a single terrified tomato.“Guess it’s just you and me now, eh kid?” The woman has just finished clearing out all the unhealthy food in her kitchen. Her body, made plump and generous through countless little gifts to self, suddenly weighs a ton. Gravity is exponential when the darkness of a diet begins its slow pull down.

This is the end of want. Only nothingness beyond. And a single tomato – not even organic, a truck ripened Walmart hothouse tomato. It knows it can’t possibly satisfy this woman, especially not these last few traces of lust still holding out against despair, fighting the eternity of less-than that lies ahead.

Her man is leaving – if she doesn’t change. And so, either way, she sees the end of joy, of all pleasure and desire. He has his issues, sure, but the woman has hid his failing in her own, in food – a compulsion impossible to hide. Her body is no longer hers and her mind is obsession…addiction. This is why he will leave. Because she no longer loves him most. She has cuckolded him with a greater fullness and paraded around with flushed cheeks and wet lips, wrapped in the folds of its unwavering warmth. Why did it start? How? It doesn’t matter. There is only this moment, this tomato, and an idea for a single ingredient hamburger fantasy.

“We can do this. Come on lil’ buddy.” Her voice shakes, but she has to fight the darkness. She’s gotten lost down there before; it’s in her blood. She knows she can’t go back. And so she uses all of her creativity and will to coax whatever flavor she can out of one lonely Walmart tomato. No salt. No sugar. No oil. Just one small life giving everything it can, three different flavours/textures, to a single ingredient tomato burger. Is it enough? Try the recipe below and decide for yourself…
One ingredient tomato burger recipe:

Slice off top and bottom of one tomato for bun. Warm “bun” to room temp in covered bowl. Divide center portion of tomato into two paddies. Finely chop one and add liquid from rest of tomato (spoon it all into small pan) and a splash of water. Reduce until cooked and thickened. Grill the other paddy to caramelize (cough cough char) surfaces for extra flavour. Assemble as shown above. Take your first bite with our heroine to discover whether this is the end… or just the very beginning of joy.