Wild About Tomatoes

The plant appeared out of nowhere, and a rub of the serrated, furry leaves, gave the plant away. That smell that all gardeners know, or anyone that has had the pleasure, of enjoying farm fresh tomatoes!

The diminutive tomato, was cherry in size, which also gave way to what I now call the “double header”, the “miniature big boy” aka heirloom tomato, and not to be out done the “pearl” tomato. It seemed that the plants just kept giving more, and more; and, with every harvest, a different tomato seemed to pop out of the same plant.

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Which ultimately, one plant, turned into at least ten plants; as with every harvest, the seeds were given back to the earth.

The fact that the first plant, was what I would call “wild”, makes it even more of a happy occurrence.  Intuitively, I had to save the seeds, if  I did that in my childhood garden; where, my “Big Boy” tomatoes were so proliferous, my neighbors always got to enjoy huge baskets.

I squished the tomato seeds, into a jar (that has a wide opening) to fit my hand into. The deeper the jar the better, but trust me, you will get splashed with seeds!  Next,  let the jar sit for about a week; by then the seeds have separated into a liquid, which stays at the top of the jar, the seeds will float to the bottom.

fermenting

Please do not put the seed jar, in a hot place, nor direct sunlight; other wise you will have a rather explosive situation, literally, & it does smell nasty!

I’m not in a hurry, so to be honest, it could be more than a weeks time, but so we could have a time-guide, we’ll use a week. The seeds that are good, float to the bottom, and the ones that float at the top are not good for planting; you can add water, a few drops of dishwashing liquid,  and shake in the jar, once the fermentation is done.

Sitting in it’s own brine, if you will, allows to rid any disease-causing microbes (bacteria, viruses, protozoa or fungi) from going to the next generation of plants.  To begin with, I did not use any plant food, nor fertilizer on the plants, or soil.

Since, these are organic, hardy, very low maintenance (if any), and deliciously-easy to grow I would love for everyone to enjoy fresh tomatoes for the meals, salads, & more!

heirloom tomatoes

You can use containers, or tomato cages, or quite fun just let them grow on the ground; they will sprawl to quite a large diameter. I would love to try these tomato plants in the upside down planter, so I think I will!

types of cherry tomatoes

All I know is, I’ve never seen such hardy plants, with almost zero maintenance.  What I would suggest is, getting seeds that are organic, and once you have your first crop, save the seeds; and just keep planting.

I hope you enjoy gardening, remember to try new recipes, share with your friends, and family, or even sell at your local green markets. It will be worth it!

Cherry tomatoes

Please feel free to comment, and let me know , if you decide to plant tomatoes? Send some pictures, please!

 

Quotes About Gardens:

What is a weed? A weed is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Personal Notes:

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) foods, are not the way to nurture ourselves, families, or friends. What is known as Non-GMO foods, which are preferably Organic, have only what nature intended you to have. How to tell if fruits, vegetables, and other products are Non-GMO:

Recipe For Pizzaiola:

 

I used fresh garden tomatoes, and added green peppers.

 

More Helpful Info About Tomatoes:

Video Info About Tomatoes

What Is Meant By Open Pollination

How To Make Your Own Tomato Juice

Canning Tomatoes For Beginners

How To: Select and Store Tomatoes

How To: Growing Tomatoes From Seed

Eros Food Garden Healthy Salad

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Make sure the rind (white) is thick enough

Watermelon Stacked Recipe Ready

Looking at the side of the Watermelon, the white part of the rind is aproximate 1 inch thickness, which is perfect for salad since we will be removing the green outer part, and as much of the pink fruit as possible. Please use a cutting board to cut the green skin off the melon, and cut the pieces in manageable sections, after removing the pink fruit (fleshy part for everyone to enjoy). If one particular piece proves too difficult to remove the green skin, go on to another piece.

Watermelon cut to manageable pieces

Watermelon Random Cut & With Removed Skin

Once the green skin of the Watermelon is removed, get each piece ready to julienne (which means you will cut into strips just like french fries)! Put each piece of rind face up (concave shape to your hand, convex shape to cutting board), and start cutting at right, or left side, into thin strips (not too thin nor thick for this recipe).

Cut rind pieces into medium (1/8") thickness strips

Julienne All Of The Rind about 10 cups

Please don’t worry about perfect strips in your julienne rind, that is not going to change the flavor of the salad, be glad it’s done!  Woot!  Also, you will have used aprox half of the watermelon to equal 10 cups.

Added Three Kiwi to Julienne Rind

Three Kiwi Added to Julienne Watermelon Rind

Now your watermelon rind is ready for the three (3) Kiwis. Remove the skin of the Kiwis, and cut the fruit in slices right over the watermelon rind, which is julienne. Please cut the slices of Kiwi in about 1/4 inch thickness, otherwise they will, well you know…. disintegrate!

Add scallions to the kiwi fruit, and watermelon rind

Scallions, Kiwis, & Watermelon

You are ready to give another dimension of flavor to the salad! Take 4 scallions (washed and with root cut off bottom), cutting into slices about 1/2 thickness; add to the kiwis, and rind.   I like to toss the scallions on top of the kiwis, so the fruit will absorb some of the flavor from the scallions!
In the mean time, in a separate bowl, add 1 tablespoon of garlic powder, and 2 cups of balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing, and blend together. Now put the rind, kiwis, and scallions into garlic, and balsamic vinaigrette, mixing well with a large spoon, or spatula.

Watermelon Rind, Kiwis, & Scallions with Balsamic Vignegrette

Watermelon Rind, Kiwis, & Scallions with Balsamic Vignegrette

Now that the salad is ready,  put into a clean bowl chilling for about 1 hour, so that flavors all blend together! Before you put in fridge, add the juice of a fresh squeezed lime, or lemon. Optionally, you can add 6 crushed leaves of mint (spearmint) for a really fresh zing!!

Adding Lemon or Lime gives greater sbsorption to benefits of Watermelon rind

Give Me Liberty and Give Me Health: Eros Garden BBQ Salad

A healthy, and delicious salad that definitely spells summer, is high in citrulline amino acids good for a healthy heart.  There is another practice that is very important: being frugal, and eating well!! I hope you enjoy my salad recipe with BBQs, or meals of choice!

Kitchen Tools You Will Need:

  • Knife
  • Cutting Board
  • Large Dish (1)
  • Two (2) Large Bowls (I prefer non metal bowls)
  • 1 large mixing spoon or spatula

Ingredients:

  • 10 cups peeled watermelon rind
  • 3 kiwis
  • 4 scallions (washed,a nd roots cuts off)
  • 1 lemon, or lime juice fresh squeezed
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 2 cups of Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
  • 6 crushed mint leaves (optional)

Once I have made my salad, I like to dunk a couple pieces of bread in to the mixing bowl, to reward myself for a job well done!

Lick The Bowl with bread

Treat Yourself To Licking The Bowl

It has been my pleasure to create the Eros Food Garden BBQ Salad just for you, family, and friends! Enjoy!!

Note:

  • Please Do Not let your children try and cut the green skin off the  watermelon, it is a very hard skin, and is dangerous for them.
  • Wash the watermelon throughly before cutting it.