Color in the garden

Red tomatoes.  And yellow ones too.

Finally!  Might be my favorite thing to come out of the garden because it means sweet snackin' cherry tomatoes and tomato sandwiches and tomato + basil pastas and fresh salsa and (a new discovery-thanks, gina!) tomato jam!  



Black beans (almost)

This is proof for my neighbor who scoffed at my black bean plants.  They happen to look just like green bean plants.  She just wasn't believin' what I was growin'.  See and believe, sistah!

Yellow squash

as big as my head when one hides from me long enough.

Orange pumpkins

several kinds...my renegade jack-o-lanterns

We have maybe a dozen of these sugar pumpkins that I can't wait to eat up in soups and pies and curry.  But not all at the same time.

More renegades.  I don't know what kind they are but they are so cute and tiny.  And yellow!  Anybody else know what they might be?

We'll have enough to start preserving soon!

++++++++++++++++++++++
I was able to talk to Gina and get the recipe we used for the Tomato Jam.  It is sooo good!  Try it on cream cheese with crackers, spread it on a sandwich or wrap, add it to the top of your dinner roll or cornbread.

Tomato Jam
5 lbs. tomatoes chopped
2 small onions diced
1/2  cup dark brown sugar
1 cup white sugar (*the original recipe called for 2 cups but we thought that made it too sweet)
juice of 2 lemons
2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp smoked paprika (*original recipe calls for 1 tsp)
1 1/2 tsp cumin (*original recipe calls for 3/4 tsp)
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
chopped jalapenos to taste (*our addition-makes it more like a pepper jelly)

Throw it all in a pot and allow it to simmer until it becomes syrup-y (approximately 3 hours but it depends on the juice level of your tomatoes).

You can see we took the liberty to experiment with the recipe a bit.  That's what makes cooking fun for me, just being creative.  So, throw in what you like and let me know how it comes out.  You may just discover the next best thing!