You say tomato, I say tomato.

So, I am in the process of jotting down the notes of the failures and successes of my summer garden.  In the mean time, while we wait for me to make a post of those, I’d like to tell you about the tomatoes…There wasn’t any time to wait for them to ripen on the vine, so I picked them, put them in a paper bag, and hoped they’d ripen on their own.  And that they did!!!  As they started to turn, I would take them out of the bag and put them in the windowsill.  And once they were really red, I’d put them in a bowl to gather a few for salsa.

Here’s my salsa recipe:

lots of tomatoes

some basil, and a peppermint leaf

lots of garlic

a little bit of onion

1/2 bushel trimmed cilantro

a few pinches of kosher salt

a jalapeno – 1/2 if you don’t like it too spicy, 1/4 if you like it milder

squirt of lemon

blend in a food processor.  It gets a bit frothy, but yummmmmmmmmmm it’s delicio!!!

I put into containers and freeze for the winter!!!  Lots of fresh salsa is really, really, really good for you!

fresh salad.

tomato. basil. cucumber.

All from THE garden.

added vinegar, olive oil, and a bit of kosher salt.

My biggest tomato harvest thus far

it’s always somn’

what happened to these tomatoes?

and these zucchini leaves?

BUT the good always comes with the bad, right?

Look at this healthy jalapeno.

First Big Boy.

sprinkle of basil, sprinkle of kosher salt and…

YUM!

things are a growin’

 

zucchini flowers

jalapeno bud

 

wax bean

roma tomato

 

the peppers are surviving (after the bunnies had a snack)

the beans are growing (had to replant after bunnies ate them down to little nubs)

 

tomato plants are getting so big that their stalks are breaking. I'm going to the garden store today to ask for help. unless you have ideas what to do...

garden guardian (used to be a bird house, but the dogs scared them away. now he just watches over the yard)

Tomato, Tomato

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

You’re so yummy,

I love you.

Are first children always more dearly loved?  I like to think not, but I can’t help be overly ecstatic for my very first tomato:

 

on the vine

Ready to eat.

Beans, beans good for the heart…

Guess what?  The beans have arrived!  

and the tomatoes are closer to being ripe

Parsley is popping up

and the new bean seedlings are emerging in the raised bed (I planted these after the bunnies ate me outta house and home.  litl’ rascals!)

Oh, and I must not forget…the raspberry bush….

I can officially call myself a gardener.  yay.

Dear Tomatoes,

I love you.  I love you.  How do I count the ways?  

Garden time.

The tomatoes are starting to grow.  yipeee.

It’s rained all week and all of a sudden my garden is a veggie jungle:

Tonight, I had lettuce and spinach salad (from my garden), with Goddess dressing: