Who doesn’t love a delicious tomato picked warm from the garden?  I have to admit that I  like them with a little dirt still clinging to the skin.  And that scent…nothing screams summer more than perhaps a clump of basil…but I digress.  Every spring I race up to the market in Fonthill to buy a flat of heirloom seedlings from Linda Crago of  Tree & Twig. The “tomato lady” and I start with a few e-mails in March about the varieties that I really liked the year previous and then suggestions about a few new varieties are introduced and before you know it I have purchased a few more seedlings than I planned on.  Somehow I always find room for them all!

This year was a really tough spring.  I lost my first batch of seedlings to a freak frost over the May long weekend, despite having tucked them away in a sheltered spot.  This necessitated a second “911” trip to Fonthill market for more seedlings…Despite a cold and miserable non summer, the tomatoes have finally come on stream.

Heirloom tomatoes from the garden in a delicious Good Earth salad

Heirloom tomatoes from the garden in a delicious Good Earth salad

This evening I supped on a simple salad of assorted heirlooms – tiger toms, green zebra, purple calabash, striped Germans and my all time favourite – black cherry tomatoes; splash of olive oil, sprinkle of coarse salt & pepper, dash of balsamic vinegar… and of course some torn basil leaves.  Add a slice of olive bread hot off the grill and you almost don’t need the steak (well, almost).  I always marvel how nature can come up with all these different shapes and colours and patterns.  Why do these tomatoes taste so much better than the best hot house varieties?

As anyone with a garden knows, there comes a time when there are too many tomatoes at once.  This evening I sliced up whatever was left added sugar and …the first batch of 2009 tomato jam is only a few bubbles away!  That will be worth a mention in the newsletter.  If you haven’t tried our tomato jam, just you wait.

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