As the Garden Grows

We are havesting tomatoes. Lots of tomatoes. Enough said. Last night, I bit the bullet and made salsa. I just harvested about 10 pounds of tomatoes, mostly romas so I had to do something before my husband came home and couldn't get the door open for the tomatoes piled behind it. Don't get me wrong; I love homemade salsa and can't bring myself to even buy the stuff they have in the store anymore but it is a lot of work. I blanch, peel chop and drain all the tomatoes; roast some bell peppers and chop them; core and dice jalapenos, dice onions and garlic, chop up fresh cilantro and parsley. Whew! after all that I cook it slightly and add salt and other spices. For all that work last night I got 5 pint jars of salsa. We love to eat it right out of the jar with tortilla chips or with beans. I also use it in some recipes like enchiladas, black beans and rice, etc. Although this is not really a food blog, I can't help writing about what I do with my garden's bounty. After all, that is why we do it and I'll be doing much more of it before I'm done ;~)

I will be harvesting more corn today and snapping the rest of the green beans for canning. Hopefully canning a few more jars of tomatoes or making some soup for this winter is on the agenda too.

I pulled up the rest of the onions and am now ready to put in some raised beds in their place. I plan to plant more onions and garlic in those beds.

When I am so busy in the garden like now, my day job seems so fruitless. I long to be there in the mornings before the heat comes on, tending that precious space instead of heading off to work where I spend countless hours that while it earns me a paycheck, it does nothing much for my soul. I long to be totally connected with the soil, the compost, the weather and the bugs. I know that what I am able to do now will grow with time if I am just patient enough. There is a lot of work to do and I am thankful that I am able to do it. Back to the garden everybody!