Rain rain rain and then...tomatoes
“The whole future lies in uncertainty. Live immediately.”
The quote is attributed to Seneca, recognized as the founder of modern Stoicism. And here’s a ripening Moyamensing tomato that’s calling out to be eaten immediately.
We did just that (over the sink, with a salt shaker, as is customary).
Speaking of uncertainty, hurricane Beryl brought five inches of rain down on our ripening garden in 48 hours, obliterating the sun for days. Then came four more inches within the week. How could we be affected by the hurricane here on the east side of Lake Michigan? This map answers that.
This bounty is just poised for a day or three of sun.
And with the sun the harvest begins: the larger Cosmonaut Volkov and Moyamensing tomatoes and the smaller stupice and California golds. Plus the elongated and very sweet Prairie Fire. Eggplant are emerging too.
Lots of shishito peppers coming on line. We eat them as fast as we harvest, tossed into a hot cast iron with butter and salt.
It’s not all exactly sunshine and roses here, though. The undergrounders are popping up into the garden for late dinner. If they ate just one or two whole tomatoes…but often they’re sampling right off the vine. Good thing we grow extra.
A favorite pepper below, the shape-shifting Buena Mulata, with a fascinating history.
A very rare, extremely productive, and stunning hot pepper … William Woys Weaver introduced us to this pepper from his grandfather's collection. His grandfather received the pepper from African-American painter Horace Pippin in 1944. A chameleon-like pepper that undergoes color changes during ripening, from violet to pink, then orange changing to brown, and eventually to a deep red. The long, round pods reach 6 to 7 inches in length and undergo a unique flavor change as they ripen, with the reds being more sweet and meatier than the violet.
Every morning a happiness…
