Old Macdonald had a farm!

looking through some old photos I came across some memorable visits to pumpkin patches and farms and decided that my post today was in honor of this slow seasonal change that is upon us. I am excited to take Jacob to his first pumpkin patch on Sauvie's Island and I am sure he will be standing in the middle of the field trying to lift multiple pumpkins.

It seems as if summer flew by and today at the store I saw orange everywhere and people buying halloween costumes. I will blink once and then it will be Turkey day and lights and the smell of pine Christmas trees. I am trying to enjoy every moment but sometime it just zooms by in chunks of time. Why did it seem to go by so slowly when we were kids?

TOMATO DAYS

When I was a little girl in Russia I remember having a love for a plain and pure tomato. Well actually it was tomato with salt. Russians must love their salt because there is nothing like tasting a beautifully ripe tomato sprinkled with a little salt. As summer is coming to a close the tomatoes here in Portland are finally starting to ripen. Today I stepped outside to find the vines sprinkled with red, orange and yellow tomatoes of varying shapes and sizes. I ate two heirlooms and a handful of sun gold and sweet 100's before lunch. YUM. The hardest thing about planting tomatoes is picking which variety you want and then staggering the various kinds in such a way that you have an abundance of tomatoes throughout the season. Aside from picking the usual suspects it is wise to get adventurous and try out purple, black and even white heirlooms. Each has a unique acidity that adds a great assortment of color to salads and other dishes. 

There were of course other things in the garden today but I was neglecting them because my focus was on gathering as many tomatoes as I could. My neighbor Molly just informed me that you can freeze tomatoes whole for the winter. I've never tried that but that might be something to do this weekend.