garden, pt 8 :: the fruits of labor

after "toiling" and "pruning," i finally have a "crop" to "harvest"...

:: yellow tomato plants ::

the yellow tomatoes are officially not yellow (more orange) and golfball sized. they have a tougher skin but are very juicy inside and taste absolutely wonderful! i either eat them as a snack or use them to jazz up a meal. my favorite dish so far was simple: perfectly cooked scrambled eggs, half a california avacado w/ cottage cheese and one whole "yellow" tomato. all sprinkled lightly with salt & pepper and nothing more. glorious!

:: red tomato plants ::

i have to admit, i am a bit disappointed in my hybrid reds. they are supposed to be at least baseball-sized, wonderfully fleshy and very tasty. so far, i have 1 out of those 3. next year i shall get the same type of plants but plant them by themselves in a larger pot (larger than what i have the yellows in). they apparently need space and fooood to grow big and yummy. however, they are extremely tasty. since the yellows arrived first, i didnt think my garden could produce richer flavors. but perhaps due to the golfball size, the hybrid reds are ah-maze-ing. no salt needed on these buggers. my favorite meal with reds: gorgonzola mushroom ravioli in sage butter w/ fresh shredded cheese.

:: herbies ::

to date, the herbies have not progressed any further, but they have proven quite helpful in the kitchen. i've made: a lovely simple syrup with local honey and thyme (for cocktails!); amazing hamburgers with thyme, rosemary and goat cheese; and delicate tomato, thyme and goat cheese omelets along with many other dishes that required a kick of fresh basil. i figured this would be my most useful crop, and to date, it is. my plan for the herbies is to attempt to bring them indoors for the winter. not sure if they'll keep, and at the first sign of indoor failure, i pluck, dry and store. next year i'll spread out the herbies a bit more in a good container, and solemnly swear to water at regular intervals - the basil plants have black stems, which i'm told is a result of bad drainage, hence preventing more positive growth.

this has been a fun experiment, and i'm very glad it's producing such wonderful products!