I feel like I've been crossing the 7-mile bridge or going through a long tunnel, I'm almost to the end. It takes me somewhere I haven't been but it's BOUND to be better than still being on the bridge or focusing on that annoying little light that gives you hope except that you have to stare at it so long and become unsure how close you really are to it.
I guess really that's what most relationships are. I would like to find one that is more like a nature trail or something like that. Something that has a progression and the scenery always changes to something else new and beautiful that you can stop to appreciate for as long as you like. Something that never become monotonous or old. And though the bugs may be bothersome at times, you know they'll go away and you'll enjoy your surroundings once again.
It will happen, even if it ends up just being a happy relationship on my own.
Other events I may or may not have posted:
I now have TWO paintings hanging in a salon downtown. If I could ever find time to finish a couple others I've been working on for some time I could have more but for now I'll take what I've got :) It makes me excited.
I've also had a semi-successful garden...what the pesky deer haven't mutilated and the weather hasn't wilted.
Home-grown potatoes are some kind of wonderful ALL their own. This year I grew two varieties, your basic buy in bulk at Walmart yellow spud and a PURPLE one called Adirondak Blue. A long time friend invited me over for dinner this week and we put a mix of my potatoes in some green beans and ham. Now a lot of people like to use seasonings to enhance this flavor or that, typically I too am one of those people. I'd like to think it was just the quality of my potatoes, but realistically it could be something to do with the salt cured ham, EVERYTHING had such great flavor I didn't even think about seasoning any of it. The potatoes all had this amazing buttery flavor that went so well with the rest of the dish.
Then we had my tomatoes on the side. Tomatoes are the jewel of my garden. My dad has always gone overboard with them and I seem to have inherited the same love of growing them. This year I grew from seed 4 of my 9+ varieties of tomatoes. Anyone who grows plants from seeds knows how exciting it is, it is even better when that plant produces something useful and delicious. The tomatoes in my garden this year include: Snowberry, Violet Jasper, Green Zebra, Purple Russian, Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, Pineapple, Old German, and White Tomesol. There are also eight or nine volunteer plants from last years tomatoes.
Last year our clear favorites for flavor and their unique display were the Green Zebras and the Pineapples. The Green Zebra looks just like the name implies, a light yellowish green base with chartreuse stripes. They have such great flavor and are great to pop in your mouth fresh out of the garden or to decorate a salad, though some of them get big enough you may need to quarter them. The Pineapples are a larger variety of and orange-yellow color with varying shades of orange, pink, or red in stripes that look dripped from the bottom up the tomato. They make beautiful slices or wedges just for eating or they are excellent grilled and paired with a sweet and salty meat such as a pork belly with a glaze.
So far this year, the Violet Jasper is in the lead followed closely by the White Tomesol. These are two that I started from seed so I may be slightly partial, but how can you deny a WHITE tomato being unique? And the Jasper has such a sweet sugary finish that if my plants had done a little better or I had planted more of them, I would just stand in the garden and eat them all before continuing with my work. Not to mention how incredibly pretty the Jasper is. It is such a mix of purple and pink and green and yellow that it looks iridescent, then you throw some faint green zebras stripes on them. Everything about them is enchanting. The White Tomesol is a medium large variety that turns a butter yellow past peak ripeness and has such a mild and easy to enjoy flavor. A thin wedge of Tomesol paired with a half of Jasper would make such a beautiful and fun edible summer garnish.
Obviously I'm rather attached to my garden this year. It seems as if I could go on for hours just about tomatoes and potatoes. Next, year pests and heat waves aside, I will expand my repertoire to include other fruit bearing species as well as a new tomato or two and hopefully even more interesting potatoes!I'll leave you with a couple pictures of my summer's pride and joy! The first is a fun display (in poor lighting sadly) with Snowberry cherry tomatoes foremost in the presentation with a Pineapple to the upper left and center surrounded to the right by White Tomesols, on the table to the right of the Snowberries are Green Zebras, to the left of the Snowberries is a lone Purple Russian and 2 volunteer tomatoes of unknown orirgin.
If we start in the top right, the pinkish tomatoes are suppose to be my Old Germans (unfortunately I believe they cross bred or were not labeled correctly), clock-wise next is the Snowberry (little pale yellow cherry tomatoes), followed by the Purple Russians (I've struggled with them since the beginning, we will likely part ways after this year), next I believe is the Black Krim (in pictures, looks very similar to the Cherokee Purple), at this point I only had 2 of my favorite White Tomesols<3, the little loner I believe is Cherokee Purple, and framed in the center by all the rest are the Green Zebras.
When I see the Adirondak Blue potatoes I still get little butterflies in my chest at their simple and pretty novelty. In the picture the potatoes surround a row of Snowberries and a row of Green Zebras with what a Cherokee Purple really looks like in the bottom right corner.
Seeds for most of my tomatoes as well as an excellent variety of other heirloom vegetables and flowers can be order from the wonderful folks at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.
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