Tomatoes

Tomatoes, tomatoes and more tomatoes.  We have been blessed with an over abundance.  We have given away hundreds, literally.  In fact I will be giving away 5 more bags soon.  Most of them are the small yellow pear tomatoes.  Great for snacking, just pop them in your mouth.  I only have two of those plants and they have taken over the garden, squeezing out every thing else.  I think they have slowed the growth of all the others due to their proliferation. 

We still get plenty of the larger size tomatoes, but not anywhere close in comparison to the pear tomatoes.  We haven't given away many of those at all.  Even with eating tomatoes at almost every meal and giving so many away, we still have more than we can consume before they go bad.  We haven't learned canning yet, we were waiting to determine if this gardening venture would go far enough to get us interested in canning.  We probably will can some next year and invest in the appropriate pots etc.  

"Randy, what do you do with all the other tomatoes you can't eat or give away?"  One word,  SALSA!  

In this part of Texas, salsa is one of the 4 basic food groups.  The others being beef, tacos and of course corn chips for the salsa.

I have been experimenting with the flavors.  Don't really have it perfected yet.  I don't change it much, just vary the amounts of lime/wine vinegar or leave it out completely.  

Those yellow tomatoes also make the salsa look kinda weird, but the taste is the same.  Even the red tomatoes are making an orange looking salsa since I add so many other ingredients that change the color i.e. yellow peppers and cilantro.  Now I have enough salsa stored in the freezer to last me a few days.  My salsa is also thick and a bit chunky, not that watered down fake stuff you get at some of those wannabe restaurants.

Just talking about this has gotten me the urge to go have some with chips.  

Happy Trails.