Showing posts with label tomatoes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tomatoes. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

And there was much rejoicing!


Today when I went to the garden, I found our first ripe tomato! Tomatoes straight from the vine are truly one of my summer joys. This one has some spots and is not that big, but beautiful all the same. I'm trying to decide how I will eat it? Will I have it with cottage cheese? Will I cut it up for an omelet? Or perhaps, the best of all, I will have a tomato sandwich. Ward and Theo will just have to wait because this one is all mine. Yum!


Friday, August 13, 2021

Another afternoon

It was a bright, sunny day before the storm.
It's almost 6 pm and I'm sleepy. It's too late for a nap and too early to go to bed. So what to do? This situation usually sends me outside to putter in the yard, but the rains are tumbling down. Recently, our weather has been much like it was when we lived in New Orleans - a thunderstorm every afternoon. In New Orleans, it seemed that it stormed every day after work as we were walking to the bus. I wish I could say the storms cooled things off, but they didn't. If anything, the air was even more humid afterwards, but we are luckier here in that regard--after the storms, the air is usually cooler. 

I have to work tomorrow, but I had today off, so I spent most of it trying to process produce so it won't go bad while we are away. After I ran out of ingredients for pesto, I put the rest of the basil into the dehydrator. Herbs dry at a very low temperature and it seems to take forever. In fact, the temperature outside was higher than it was in the dehydrator-98 F and 95F, respectively. As I was expressing my impatience with the drying basil, Theo suggested I take it outside where it was warmer. :)

The last sauce I made, I used the food mill.
This time I used a blender.
Also, on the produce menu today was tomato sauce. After preparing it this morning, I've been cooking it down all day and now it's cooling. The goal is to get it into the freezer tonight. However, if I still had my canner, I would can it. Several years ago, I gave the canner away after not using it for a long time. If this keeps up, I may need to get another one. Besides the basil and tomatoes, throw in some dropped pears and apples and it's been a full day.

The rains have stopped and I'm going to go find Ward, who has wondered outside somewhere.

Until next time...


Wednesday, August 3, 2011

A Second Look, August 3, 2011

The heat continues and I don't want to be outside. I don't think many of the plants are happy out there either. However, I am excited that a small plant I got from a friend several years ago has finally started to bloom. I thought she gave me a hydrangea, but it turns out that I have a hibiscus. Also, when I first starting doing a Second Look, I thought I wouldn't repeat any plants. I would only take pictures of new things blooming. However, I have tossed that idea by the wayside. This time of year, I will show you anything that can survive the weather.


Here's what a found on a Second Look around the yard this week.


Balloon flowers
 

Yellow pear tomatoes



New hibiscus bloom


 Lone coneflower growing in middle of hibiscus bush


New sweet gum ball along with one hanging on from last year.


Marigolds


Coleus (Kong variety)


The deer are eating closer to the house as more plants are dying from the heat.