'Maters!

THIS came from MY garden!

Well, maybe not a garden.  More like a pot on my back patio.  But this is a big deal my friends.  I have the blackest of black thumbs.  But oh how I try to grow a few things.  Every year, I plant basil.  And every year, it begins looking sickly until I just give up and let it die.  This year's basil plant is no exception.  I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.  Too much water, not enough?


Anyway, in my humble opinion, nothing screams SUMMER more than fresh, tasty tomatoes.  Sadly, the ones from the grocery store lack any flavor whatsoever.  Even the farmers market varieties haven't been great lately.  For a few years I've thought about growing my own and this year I finally did it.  


Figured I'd start small.  After all, I have a tendency to kill anything I plant.  No need to sink a lot of money into this experiment.  


I was so excited a few weeks ago when I noticed one of the little tomatoes turning orange and beginning to ripen.  Two days later, there it was - all gloriously red and ready for harvest!

 That is, until I got a closer look.  Dang birds!

 So when the next little piece of fruit starting turning orange, I snatched it from the vine to let it finish ripen in my window, safe from our backyard wildlife.

Mmmm - it did not disappoint!  Just a little salt, pepper and a few basil leaves (from my withering plant).  I'm so excited!  Now, I just wish I had planted more.