The tomato blight

Sigh! This was the year that I would have tomato soup, tomato bread salad, home made salsa, gazpacho, tomatoes provencal. Well, you know.

Instead we had 6 weeks of rain and now the blight. I still have three plants in pots, but the tomato plants in the garden have been destroyed. The best laid plans of mice and men, but I don't think mice actually make too many plans. What they make is nests in the garage. Even in the doll house. Bad mousie!

The last houseguest left today, and except for a mountain of laundry, yea, veritable alps of laundry, we're all set. I've been away from my book for so long that I printed it out to read and discover what I had actually written. So far, I am impressed with the beginning. Did I actually write that? Not bad.

The papers have had stories about information warfare and I always wonder if it really happened, then would The Shadow Warriors take off? Who knows?

I watched the finals of The Next Food Network Star, and like both finalists, even tried the winners 4 step dinner plan tonight and it was a winner, too. Of course, after the pasta and the ice cream and all the meals out, we will have to go into serious diet mode. Summer salads beckon. Hey, it can't be THAT BAD. Well, can it?

Grapeshot

Late Summer Meals

Tomato Bread Salad!

At right, tomato harvest ripens, and tonight we are eating tomato bread salad. Made with big homemade croutons, olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh mozzarella, ripe, home-grown tomatoes (yowza!) fresh basil from said garden, some organic baby spinach and red onion. A vegetarian treat. Create your own proportions, with tomatoes the star of the show.

We're keeping the salad theme throughout, with a fruit salad of banana, nectarine, figs and oranges. Mega yum!

I harvested the young beets and we'll eat the beets and their greens separately. I love to pop a few cherry tomatoes into my mouth while I'm working in the garden. It's not really work, it's joy.