First Heirloom Tomato Harvest

It has finally happened! The very first heirloom tomato has ripened and been plucked from the vine. And it's a beauty with a bright, red sheen and a wonderful smell. It'll be amazing with some mozzarella cheese, basil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Mmmmmm!

We had been watching it intently for the past few days, waiting as patiently as we could. First a little pink. Then a few patches of red. A little more red. Then a gorgeous, ripe tomato! We couldn't wait any longer (plus, we didn't want to risk the squirrels getting to enjoy it first). We had a small ceremony and Daniel made the official snip.

We planted a variety called "Oxheart" tomatoes. We are told it's an older variety. They have distinctive ridges and a slightly oblong, heart-like shape, thus their name. Can't wait to see how they taste! A few more are starting to ripen now and should be ready in the next few days.

The cherry tomatoes continue to ripen on the vine by the dozen (they're going to become salsa this weekend along with some of the onions from the farm share).

And the peppers are looking good! The jalapeños are producing and so are the banana peppers. They'll both end up in the salsa. The green bell peppers are finally starting to show the beginning of fruit... so we will look forward to them in a few more weeks.

Ahhhhhh, summertime!

Garden Finally Starting to Produce

At long last! The backyard garden is finally starting to produce results. We planted heirloom (oxheart) tomatoes and a bunch of "large" cherry tomatoes... jalapeños, habañeros, banana peppers and green bell peppers. The plants we bought that were labeled as orange bell peppers seem to actually be yellow banana peppers. But that's okay... they'll still be yummy!

This morning's haul was pretty good. A bunch of tomatoes and a couple kinds of peppers. Combined with what we get from the CSA, this should be a good start on some salsa! Yay!

Making Jam for the First Time

Recipe: Traditional Strawberry Jam

First and foremost... of all the things learned today... know this: Jams, jellies and preserves are made over high heat. Do not attempt this on a 90-degree afternoon! LOL

There is no explanation for why I wanted to try this... but it is something I've wanted to try for years. Now that we have the equipment to do it, it's worth a shot! It actually turned out to be a little more fun than expected!

I remember, as a little kid, my grandmother's friend, Boggess, making jam in her kitchen. We'd go over to visit and the apartment would be a million degrees because the giant pots were on the stove with jam bubbling away. Sometimes, I got to help stir... and, even better... got to taste!

This batch of jam turned out pretty well. Guess what some of you are getting as holiday gifts? ;)

CSA Deliveries Going Strong!

This summer, we signed up for Community Supported Agriculture, a CSA. We get a share of everything the New Century CSA Farm produces this season. Each week, the delivery truck shows up and drops off a whole bunch of produce; whatever is ripe this week goes in the cooler. We've had a ton of sweet corn and even more lettuce. The peppers are starting to come into season and we're getting our first, big tomatoes and potatoes. It's been great so far! Looking forward to fresh blackberries next week!

Crunchie Bars!

We found Crunchie bars in the US! Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati imports them! Woo hoo! Let the munching begin! Yay! We bought an entire box to toss in the freezer. They'll keep for ages 'til we finally have a chance to get through them. Sooooooo yummy!

Here is some info about them from Cadbury NZ... and a couple of recipes that approximate what's inside the chocolate.

http://www.cadbury.co.nz/Products/Chocolate-Bars/Crunchie-Bar.aspx

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Crunchy-Part-of-a-Cadburys-Crunchie-Bar-50122

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crunchie