Lost in the Supermarket

Presented with certain challenges, I am always up to the task. Take work for example: I am The Terminator. Problems are received, analysed, and solutions arrived at in record time. I multi-task like a squirrel on speed - email, phone, IM - and I rarely leave for the day without a clean desk behind me.

However, there are also certain challenges that leave me...well...befuddled.

This weekend I decided to make myself some burritos, one of the few things I can cook. So off I went to the Stop and Shop, to get the necessary ingredients: tortillas, seasoning powder, one pound of ground beef, cheese....and tomatoes. The tomatoes are my nemesis.

I strolled into the produce section, found the bins with tomatoes on display, and was immediately struck dumb by the array of choices presented to me. My brain staggered and lurched - exactly what kind of tomatoes should I buy to slice up and eat with my burritos? Surely not those vaguely yellowish - yellow tomatoes in burritos would be just wrong. Perhaps the tiny ones joined together on the vine? Or maybe the slightly larger ones with the stems? How do I decide? How do other people decide - how do they know what kind of tomato should be used for burritos? Is there some sort of Tomato Kabbalah, whose initiates possess this knowledge? Long minutes passed before I finally made my decision, grabbed the two tomatoes I settled on (because I liked the color) and dash for the check-out lines.

The sad thing is - this happens everytime I have to buy tomatoes.