For the last two months, since at least early July, Becky and I have been eating tomatoes nearly every day.
Boy, are they tasty. Plump, succulent, juicy. Now, I don’t have any hard data to back me up, but, well, I’ll just say it: Indiana-grown tomatoes are the best.
I’m certainly not bragging on my gardening skills. These tomatoes, as well as all garden produce, are a gift. Our garden has offered up to us a generous crop of these glorious globes this season. And the plants are still producing.
This year’s abundant crop is the opposite of last summer’s when we were tomato-poor. I’m not sure why our garden does this annual feast-or-famine thing with certain crops, but it seems to hold true at our place.
For example, last year’s cucumbers were all over the garden. We couldn’t gather them fast enough. But this year, I’m hard-pressed to find a cuke, even those hiding under those wide leaves. I can’t explain it, but if I had to guess, I’d say it likely has something to do with human error.
We go out to the garden every day and come back with containers filled with tomatoes of all sizes and varieties, including those little yellow ones called “sun sugar,” and which I call candy. As the space on our kitchen counter begins to disappear under piles of tomatoes, we know we have to find a new home for some of them.
We give our neighbors bags full. We pack up a big box for Kevin, Rachel and the grandkids to enjoy. We hand off some to my two brothers who in turn gift us with some of their garden largesse. Now we have various peppers and zucchini to add to our tomato-based meal plans.
Becky and I have collected many recipes over the years that involve tomatoes. If I got started, I might sound like Bubba in “Forrest Gump” as he rattles off 21 ways to cook shrimp, so I won’t. But I will say that during this happy garden time, I try to eat tomatoes at least once a day.
For breakfast, we do many variations of eggs with tomatoes. Lunch involves greens with tomato slices, black olives, cucumbers (I wish) and whatever other ingredients we have on hand. For dinner, we have myriad options involving tomato sauces alone. And as we all know, salsa is good anytime, as is snacking on cheese and tomatoes.
I believe cheese and tomatoes were meant for each other. I like to tell Becky this is similar to our relationship: She is the tomato and I am the cheesy one.
We were a little concerned during one stretch of this tomato abundance. We hate to see food go to waste, so when we knew we were going to be gone for two weeks, we told our neighbors and family members to come by and take as many tomatoes as they wanted. But when we returned, the green patch of plants was hanging heavy with red and yellow fruits. It reminded me of a display of Christmas ornaments.
Of course, we always put some tomatoes away for those dark times when fresh tomatoes from our garden are not available. We have been making a little bit of sauce this year, but that’s it. In years past, we did the work that cooking, canning and freezing for the future requires. B
ut this year, I think we have agreed that maybe it’s better to simply enjoy the gifts as they come. “To everything there is a season.” I am certain other gifts will come along.
Norman Knight, a retired Clark-Pleasant Middle School teacher, writes this weekly column for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].
