My First Crop!

One of the best things about my house is that I actually have space to grow things, and the sunlight help them grow. While I had a wee back garden at my last house, it was in shadow for all but about 15 minutes of the year, and the only thing I grew was moss.

So, I was delighted to pick the first of my crop this evening, and of course, I had to photograph it!Three teeny, tiny tomatoes! Fresh off the vine, warm from the sun! What could be more perfect? You can just see the two tomato plants in the bottom left corner, above. I have one that’s a Sweet 100’s cherry tomato plant, and the other is a Big Boy. One of those was red, but the bottom had been eaten off. Bloody rabbits.

One of my favourite things to do with these little tomatoes is to cut them in half, and put them on a baking sheet. Then give them a spritz of good olive oil, or toss them beforehand, and lightly salt them. Stick them into a 180-200*F oven and go about your business for the next six or so hours. Your house will fill with the most amazing smell, and the tomatoes will gradually dry out to a leathery texture. Let them cool and put them in a plastic bag in the fridge. Use on salads and pasta as you would sun-dried tomatoes. Or eat them like candy. You can see the patina on my stainless steel, free-standing commercial kitchen counter, aka, my desk. It’s the only piece of furniture I kept when I moved to the UK, because I knew I’d never find one like it again. It came from an old navy yard we took apart when I was doing salvage work. There’s one spot that some poor prep cook must have stood for hours, chopping vegetables, because it’s worn in so rough in one spot. Connor’s rather fond of it, too! P.S. I pronounce it “to-mah-to”.