The first tomato
Posted on August 10, 2010
Back around Father’s Day I posted about gardens and fathers and immigrants and my attempt to have a garden this year. A number of people then shared heart warming stories about their fathers and gardens and childhood memories. For some people, the post touched a nerve and evoked nostalgic reverie.
I’ve had reasonably good results so far. Even lettuce seems to taste so much better out of the garden than what we buy in the grocery store. Cucumbers are now abundant. Snap peas are like candy. The herbs have taken off (What’s with mint? It’s taking over.) and have been the source of great tabouli, rosemary roasted lamb, and other dishes.
Yesterday was the milestone, however. It was the day we ate the first fully ripe, deep red tomato. Still warm from the sun, it was a revelation, and I ate it in celebration of all those gardens and gardeners who came before us.
Nothing says summer like your homegrown fruits and vegetables.
Indeed, fresh from the garden vegetables taste amazing. We’ve been enjoying our own tomatoes as well as peas, beans and the occasional pepper. We’ve had to cut back our mint plants considerably every year. (Yes they will take over if you let them).
We planted a plum tree in the backyard two summers ago. Last year wasn’t very, excuse the pun, fruitful as we only ended up with 4 half dollar-sized plums that never really ripened and were very sour. We stuck with it, pruned and watered that tree all year. This year was a much better year, producing 10 small plums, that were both sweet and juicy. They tasted like summer and Zoey, half of our 4 year-old twins, enjoyed laughing at me while the juice dribbled down our chins. I guess in a way my plum tree is like your tomatoes…creating memories our kids and us will remember for a lifetime.