Full-size tomatoes have finally started rolling in. The paste-types were the first to be ready. There were two "Pony Express" (left) and one "Roma," shown with a handful of not-the-first Sugar Plum grape tomatoes for scale.
Pony Express was a variety I'd never heard of. I got them at a garden center to make up for other paste-tomato seedlings that did not fare well. All I could find about them was they are "early" and "productive," which sounds like damning-with-faint-praise.
Shortly after, Amish Paste presented itself. This is an heirloom nearly everyone is aware of and many grow, though it's the first time for me.
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| Amish Paste |
We did a blind taste-test of Pony Express and Amish Paste. Both were good, but AP had a more rounded, better-balanced flavor.
After that the first slicing tomato was picked. This is "Rutgers," a variety we've grown for years and depend upon. Really it's a dual-purpose tomato, and as always it had outstanding flavor.
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| Rutgers |
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| Bride |
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| Reliance |
Arugula:
And a bunch of varieties of lettuce:
I guess she was full of energy this week, because she attacked the badly-overgrown herb garden.
A representative mid-week harvest:
And another:
The beans are slowing down just as the Diva cucumbers are picking up. We now have close to 3 pounds of them in the fridge, and TKG is considering revising her never-give-'em-away policy!
TKG made a batch of Pico de gallo (fresh chunky salsa) from our tomatoes, hot peppers, and cilantro. She then made a batch of corn tortillas. So our Sunday morning breakfast was Huevos rancheros, even including our own black beans. Delicious and hearty!
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| Huevos rancheros |
Our beans are just taking off.
ReplyDeleteHold your horses - you had peaches after one year? Colour me green with envy! I have a 3 year old nectarine and was hopeful that we would get a taste this year, but only a few fruit set (due to a late frost) and those then disappeared - I'm still not sure if they just fell off or were snatched.
ReplyDeleteAnd that Bride eggplant is beautiful! I'm definitely partial to the long, Asian eggplants as I feel they are simply better in all respects than the oval varieties.
Thanks, Margaret. I'm tending to more and more prefer the Asian varieties too.
DeleteI've read that Amish Paste is a very good tomato but have yet to grow it. Looks like the Diva is doing what it does, produce more cukes than you can use, but they are really good aren't they?
ReplyDeleteThey are really good, and this is the first year we've had what might be called a surplus.
DeleteThose are some lovely peaches, especially from so young a tree! Disease problems make them hard to grow here without an industrial spraying program. I tried Rutgers 250 tomato this year and while they are tasty they are smaller than the original, which I will try next year!
ReplyDeleteThere was an old peach tree on this property that never produced anything usable for us, and finally gave up the ghost a few years ago. Starting fresh!
DeleteAmish Paste is my favorite paste tomato, it seems to be really well suited to the cooler climate here and it has great flavor. I didn't grow any this year because I still have a 1 1/2 cases of quart jars from last year. It's a good producer here!
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased so far, although I do prefer determinates for sauce production.
DeleteWhat a great harvest from a first year tree! You have the touch it seems and picked the absolute right tree for your area. I loved your Huevos Rancheros. It is such a great feeling to make most of a meal out of ingredients that you have grown. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great harvest. Isn't it just soul satisfying to have a whole meal from your own place?
ReplyDeleteYum, huevos rancheros! Ditto on the great peaches, I've tried fruit trees but can't seem to figure them out and they just wither away after a few years with no fruit. So congratulations on not just fruit, but that actually tastes good.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it great when you have grown absolutely everything on the plate? People who don't grow their own don't know what they are missing!!
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