Before we had the baby, I kept a great vegetable garden.  There was a variety of produce that could satisfy any salad bowl or soup pot: lettuces, celery, cucumber, bell peppers, chili peppers, peas, eggplant, zucchini, herbs, cauliflower and, of course, tomatoes.  I was very proud.  Now with a child, I still have a garden but it’s very neglected.  I don’t get out to visit my veggies much and I’ve delegated all the watering and most of the picking to my husband.  Looking out of the kitchen to the yard, I spy a pitiful group of gangly looking tomato plants.  The basil and chives have gone to seed and are a gnarly sight.  The cukes are long gone from when my husband pulled the plug on them.

Even so, my heirloom tomato plants are bearing us more fruit than I can rightfully expect.  I’m not canning tomato sauce or anything but there’s enough of a supply to keep our plates full.  I planted a few varieties this year – Black Krum, Paul Robeson, Anna Russian, Snow White, and Yellow Pear.  I prefer heirloom tomatoes because they are colorful, juicy and flavorful.  They taste real.

The Black Krums, slightly smaller than a golf ball, are the stars of this simple salad.

Heirloom Tomato Salad

Serves 2

12 Black Krum tomatoes (or other small variety), cut in half

1/2 cucumber, peeled and seeded

5 – 6 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade (fancy word for rolling the leaves and slicing thinly, now you know)

1 – 2 tablespoons balsalmic vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste.

  1. Cut the cucmber into same size as tomatoes.
  2. Toss all ingredients together and plate.

Growing your own vegetables is a great way to get fresh, organic food in your diet.  It’s inexpensive and can provide a great workout.  I love sitting down to a homemade meal knowing that the food came from my own land (or 4 x 4 planter, but whatever).  Try it and see what wonderful things you can grow.

(Thanks to AW for letting me borrow the D60 :).  I finally figured out how to turn the thing on and shoot.)