Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Fresh Tomatoes.. Ah, So Delicious

Over the past couple of years we have been lucky enough to house-sit for folks who have had lovely yards with big flower and/or vegetable gardens... with free licence to  help ourselves.
 
We moved these plants to keep them in the sunshine all day long.
 

And loved eating the fresh and juicy tomatoes they produced.
 


And in doing so, we both have come to really appreciate freshly picked tomatoes!  Is there anything that tastes better?

I have grown a few herbs on the boat over the past several few years but had really forgotten how much I loved to garden and grow our own food and flowers.

That's why, when we decided to move off the boat this year and find an urban flat, we knew we needed either a patio or a balcony where we could have a container garden for herbs and flowers and strawberries and tomatoes.... this week we picked the last of the tomatoes, still green, and put them away in paper bags to ripen.
 
But, for the past few months, it has been an absolute joy to go outside and pick perfectly ripe tomatoes at will, bring them in to wash them, and then greedily devour them!  Succulent, juicy, sweet, and perfectly sumptious tomatoes.
 
 
One planter of full size yellow tomatoes and one of red cherry tomatoes.
 
 
It was so exciting to see the fruit growing...
 
 
and I had quite forgotten we had chosen a yellow variety until they started to ripen.
 
 
In our part of the country, yellow tomatoes are quite expensive at the market, so I guess I must have decided to try growing them ourselves when I saw the plants at the garden shop... I honestly cannot recall this - just too much going on at the time I think, with setting up the new apartment, the impending half marathon, and getting the house we were looking after in tidly shape to turn over to the owners.  I was quite excited when I realized we were growing yellow tomatoes.... for some reason this variety has virtually no waste... such a small and sweet core with very few seeds.  Lovely!
 
 
We have enjoyed them on salads.
 
 
Many times.
 
 
And it is nice to be able to go out and pick just a few...
 

to dress up an omelet.
 
 
We have so enjoyed getting back to gardening this year, even if on a very small scale,  and I can't wait to see what next Spring brings to us.
 
Here is one of my favorite ways to use and enjoy fresh tomatoes...
 
 
 
Are you a gardener?  Flowers or veggies or both?
 
What is your favorite kind of tomato?
 
 


5 comments:

  1. Your produce is SO beautiful! You have a truly green thumb!

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  2. Freshly picked tomatoes are the best! All of your tomato dishes look so tasty! I had a small garden this year, but I didn't get much out of it. I think I only ended up with about 5 tomatoes from my 2 tomato plants combined. I'm hoping to have a better garden next year.

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  3. I really really really want to grow a small garden at home. I'm hoping when the E is a little older and school is done I'll have a little more independence and can do that. The tomatooes look so good. I'd love to grow some cucumbers too. YUM!!

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  4. There is nothing better than home grown tomatoes. Yum yum yum! I missed growing them this last season but hope to next year. Look at all your yummy dishes.

    The first time I tried to grow a garden, we had way to many tomato plants and they grew faster than we could eat them. Tried red peppers to but those didn't make it at all.

    Next season, I would like to try tomatoes, spinach, kale and a few others. No flowers for me, I have a hard enough time keeping the ones I buy from Home Depot alive lol

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  5. This year was such a horrible year for tomatoes here! We got those worms and I was so disappointed because I love tomatoes and always look forward to having them in my garden. I prefer to garden vegetables and herbs. This year, I tried yellow tomatoes for the first time and they were SO good!! I think they might be my new favorite. :) Love your tomatoes, they are beautiful! :)

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