Cinnamon Tomato, anyone?

We went out for fast food the other night. We picked Taco Bell because we hadn't been there in a while. As we sat in the drive through, Jason told me about work and I told him about my day, and Caleb happily chattered to himself in the back seat. As we approached the window for our food, we began to hear incessant pleas from our 3 year old.

"Tomato! Tomato!"

This was CalebSpeak, not to be taken literally. What he was really saying was,

"Tornado! Tornado!"

I blame his favorite book for this. Several times a week, he pulls out Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett and begs me to read it. In the middle of the book, the town of Chewandswallow experiences "an awful salt and pepper wind accompanied by an even worse tomato tornado." To his little toddler ears, "tomato" and "tornado" sound the same. And tomato must be easier to pronounce, because he's called any verticle twisty shape he sees a Tomato! ever since.

What we couldn't figure out the other night, sitting in the drive through, was why he was saying tomato so insistenly.

Until we picked up our order. Out of the bag tumbled these:

Upon seeing them, Caleb joyfully, triumphantly shouted

"Tomato! Tomato, peas!"

We were laughing so hard! Why yes, son, the cinnamon twists do sorta look like tornados! Crispy, sweet, edible tornados. Or tomatoes. Take your pick.

Cinnamon tomato, anyone?