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Preseason!

Yessir.  Preseason.

April Showers Bring April Showers

Normally around this time of year I would be writing a post about the great start to the garden season.  How my my peas are close to being trellised.  How my spinach and greens are growing well.  How the gardens have been prepped and are ready for the busy season.  And how my "workable soil" seeds are ready to be sown...

Not this year...

What workable soil?

We have had rain.  And rain.  AAANNNDDD RAIN.  By far the rainiest spring that I can ever recall.  So rainy that I had 1 hour in the dark last week to mow my grass between work, travel, and rainy days.  Lo and behold my yard needs at least 2 hours in the LIGHT in order to be fully mowed, so here I sit with a half mowed yard - already in need of its second clipping.  Yet there's more rain.  If I see anyone building a large boat I am going to befriend them.

It's not all bad.  We did have one nice day a few weeks back where I was able to plant some greens seedlings and get some peas in the ground.  The peas and greens sprouted this week so at least we have something to keep an eye on.

The seeds that were started indoors are doing well.  The tomatoes, herbs, and greens are doing the best.  The peppers are a bit behind by doing well none the less.

My hop rhizomes that were planted last year all came up and are standing at about 3 feet now.  I will have a different trellis system for them this year so they're currently waiting on me to complete that.

Jul filled 3 strawberry pots this evening FULL of strawberries, and I have raised beds prepared for both potatoes and more strawberries.

Something unique that we're trying this year is to use potato grow bags - but not the kind that you can purchase.  We have a few friends who work for a small craft brewery and they always have plenty of grain bags that they're trying to dispose of.  The brewery prides itself on being sustainable meaning they hate to throw the bags out.  We'll see how this goes.  I have two kinds of potatoes in the grain/grow bags now.

As soon as the weather breaks and I have some time to spend outside I will post some photos.  Until then I'm off to do some school/career work.

Keep it real wet....haha, sick.

Seedcropolis

Last year I grew weary of the daunting task of starting seeds indoors with direct sunlight..  It works well enough when they're small but as soon as the seedlings turn to small plants you're faced with constantly turning, maneuvering, and untangling them.  It's effing awful.  The only way(s) to rectify that is to 1) build a greenhouse - which obviously is not plausible for someone in my situation, 2) deal with it and stop complaining, or 3) build something so as to start seedlings with artificial lighting.  I'll take # 3.

Materials:
1 stainless steel metro shelving unit, preferably 72 in high x 48 in wide x 18 in deep.
48 in long fluorescent lights.
Power strip. 

Optional:
Heat pad.
Reflective blanket to hang behind rack.

I purchased the 18 inch deep shelf because it is wide enough to allow a full row of seeds to receive enough lighting.  Also with it being 72 inches high it allows for 4 full shelves of growing if needed. 

Lighting can be achieved in many ways.  I purchased 1 single unit that has 4 individual bulbs.  It fits nicely, but two two-bulb lights would work just as well, simply requiring more wires and more chains.

Wattage is another issue to keep in mind.  When purchasing designated "grow" lights you will get a higher wattage, more heat, and a more "natural" light.  These obviously will work the best but they will also cost a bit more.  I paid $55 for the 4 bulb set and it's only 30 watt.  It will work just fine but I have to start the light basically touching the seedlings.  I only purchased one light to start and so I'm planning on increasing the quality for the second one.



Beginning to assemble the unit.


The heat pad is a very nice addition if you have one/purchase one because it will keep the seedlings at a constant temperature even when you turn the light out over night.  The seedlings need at least 6 hours of darkness per day.  My temperature under the lights is at or around 75 degrees when the light is lit, but drops to around 60 degrees at night (my basement is cold), so a pad would be ideal.

Testing the height of the light.

Simply assemble your lighting fixture and hang from the shelf directly above.  Be sure to purchase lights that have the optional chains to hang from.  This will save you a lot of hassle and will allow you to easily adjust the height when the plants begin to grow.  Most often they're called "shop lights."

Finished product with one flat of seeds.

There you have it!  Easy as drinking a beer.  Keep the light slightly above the seedlings until they emerge, then raise it to coincide with their growth. 

Currently I have Swiss Chard, Celery, Lettuce, and Spinach started.  This weekend I will start some Tomatoes, Peppers, Onions, Leeks, and a few others.

Start the seeds in a good organic seed starting mix, barely covered.  Keep them moist but don't over water.  If you have capability to water from below I have found that works best.

Close-up of Giant Pascal and Tendercrisp Celery started.

If you aren't growing enough to use all of the shelves it becomes great storage space.  These wire metros are also great for storing harvested veggies on when the time comes.  Good luck, happy seeding. 

Good talk.

Keep it metro yo.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Effing Year! (is very near)

Holy hell it's been forever and a day since I updated the blogus.  Winter is a very down time for a blog centered around gardening and being outside.  We got a sniff of 60 degree weather last week only to be followed by a big old snow fart to the tune of 7 inches this week.  No worries.  Now is the time to spend organizing existing seeds, ordering new ones, and developing a plan for the gardens - and in just a few short weeks will be time to start some early seedlings.  BOOM!  What a great effing time!

Soon it will be time to get the old new (I actually got one for Christmas) rotor tiller out to do early season preparation with the soil.  Then shortly after that it will be time to put the early season seeds and plants in the ground.  Can't effing wait.

I have developed an excel spreadsheet to organize the different varieties and also the planting time-table for all of the veggies we're planning on growing this year.  I try so hard to be organized but once things are in the ground my organization flies away with the wind.  BUT that doesn't stop me from trying it again this year.  Someday I will be an organizational fool.  Until then I'll feel content following the seat of my pants' advice.

Here are some new veggies we're growing attempting to grow this year:

Potatoes
Leeks
Radishes (German Beer radishes to be specific.  Apparently they serve this variety along side a malted refreshment in Germany.  I'm an obvious fan of beer so to grow this seemed inevitable).
Parsnips
Salsify (if you're unfamiliar with this it is a root vegetable, good fall crop, that when eaten tastes similar to oysters!  So cool!).
Celery
Turnips
Head Cabbage (mainly for sauerkraut making).

Most of these new veggies are good early or late season veggies.  I really plan on expanding upon our gardening season in comparision to previous years.  We tried it last year but then The Day My Fall Garden Died.

We're also trying a few new varieties of Peppers and Tomatoes - them still being the most popular veggies from the Keel Lane gardens. 

Hopefully my hops will produce some yummy bitterness this year.  Last year only brought us bines with no flowers. 

I'm effing back and will keep everyone updated on how things are transpiring.  I'm also planning on expanding the home brewing aspect of the blog since my recipe book is beginning to look a lot like my food recipe book.  Electronically is so much nicer. 

Good talk.

Keep it BOOM!
      

Horseradish...and Sometimes Beets

Horseradish root is one of those things that you either love or hate. The entire plant is called a "horseradish plant" but we only eat the roots.  The root is fragrance and odor free until the cells are broken (usually by chopping or grating) which causes enzymes to be released that will badly irritate the sinuses and eyes.  As long as you're prepared the resulting backlash from the root can be minimized.  Just be sure to work it in a well ventilated room with a few open windows.  

It is usually ready to be dug from the ground close to or even shortly after the first frost date.  I dug some two weeks prior and two weeks after our first frost and it all tastes great.

First year roots are the best for consuming.  They are the most pungent and have the freshest taste.  When you dig your roots pull off any small off-shoots and replant them.  You'll be rewarded next season.

Once horseradish is grated or chopped it quickly becomes discolored and loses it's trademark flavor so use or add to vinegar immediately.  

You are able to process horseradish and vinegar by canning but the horseradish loses its taste the longer it is cooked.  To prevent loss in taste I place the horseradish into jars and then freeze.

The process is simple.  First peel the roots and then grate the horseradish.  The finer the grate the more pungent the flavor.  Grate to your liking. I like mine very pungent so I grate mine very well.  I use a food processor with the normal blade attached AND the shred blade on top.  It works well.  

Once you have your desired consistency pack the mixture tightly into jars.  As tight as you can pack it.  Then top off with vinegar and store in a cool place or freeze.  

If you would like to sweeten the horseradish mixture I suggest one of two things.  Either dissolve a few pinches of sugar in the vinegar (you'll have to heat it then cool it) before topping off the horseradish, or grate a few beets in with the roots.  It lightens the flavor and has a great look.

Keep it real pungent. 

Canned Italian Peppers

A slight change to an always popular canned good.

CANNED ITALIAN PEPPERS

Sliced banana peppers

Italian seasoning

Garlic cloves

Vinegar

Water

Basil leaves

Canning salt

Olive oil

Sugar

Fill pint jars with sliced peppers. In each jar put: 3-4 basil leave, pinch of Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 cloves garlic, and 1 teaspoon olive oil. Bring to a boil: 2 quarts vinegar, 1 quart water and pinch of sugar. Pour over peppers and seal jars.

Keep it real.

A$$Fire Sauce

This is a simple hot sauce recipe with decent flavor that packs plenty of heat.  

A$$Fire Sauce

7 Large whole Cayenne Peppers

20 Habanero Peppers de-seeded and halved

1 Cup White Vinegar

1 Tsp. granulated sugar

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pot and cook on med/low heat until soft.  The longer you cook it the less spicy it will be.  

Once the peppers are soft combine the mixture in a blender and liquefy until very smooth.  

Strain the mixture through a fine strainer, chill, and store in the refrigerator.  

Keep it on fire. 

We're Still Cooking! Roasted Habanero BBQ Sauce

Plenty of catching up to do.  Although it's been a month and a half between posts we've been doing lots of cooking and preserving.  So that it's easier for me to reference back in the future I'll be spreading the next few recipe posts 5-10 days apart.  As of now we're still harvesting fresh spinach, swiss chard, carrots, beets, and horseradish from the recently winterized gardens.  Badass.

 Here is an awesome and simple recipe for Roasted Habanero BBQ Sauce.  This was borrowed, updated, and personalized from a few different recipes I have tried over the years.  It's SPICY so adjust the habaneros accordingly.    

Habanero Hot Sauce

BOOKMARK THIS PAGE NOW!

No seriously, not to toot my own horn because 1. that sounds disturbing and 2. I'm not a boastful guy, but this stuff is nasty (the 'good' nasty) good. This is the fourth year making it and the recipe has changed slightly every year.  If you have tried it before or if you make some for yourself let me know what worked well or tasted good if you made any changes.  It can only get better.

DEAR AMATEUR CANNERS - WEAR GLOVES WHEN HANDLING HABANERO PEPPERS!

Seriously, ask Curt - and he only had a bad experience with banana peppers.  You can exit unscathed dealing with the occasional jalapeño or less spicy pepper but not with habaneros - they will ruin your day, hell, they'll ruin a few days.

I use a 1/2 peck of cleaned and halved habaneros for this recipe.  If you're unfamiliar with harvest measurements see the picture below:

This shows from left to right; pint, quart, peck, bushel.

A 1/2 peck of peppers will yield approximately 2 quarts (when putting the peppers into a liquid 2 quart measuring cup) when cut and cleaned. 

Here's the recipe:

Habanero Hot Sauce

1/2 peck seeded and halved peppers

1 lb. Carrots - chopped

2 Stalks Celery - chopped

1 medium sweet onion - diced

5 cloves of garlic - diced

1 Quart white vinegar

1 Cup white sugar

1 Tablespoon canning salt

2 Tablespoons Pickling spice - you can use store bought or make your own.

1/2 Tablespoon honey

Fresh carrots from the garden.

Place the vinegar, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic into a large sauce pot and cook on medium heat until the vegetables are fork tender.

Using a hand blender or free standing blender - blend the mixture until it is very smooth and free of any chunks.

Return the mix to the heat and add the sugar, salt, and honey.  Place the pickling spiced into a spice bag or wrap them in cheesecloth so that they can be easily removed - then also add that to the mixture.  

Continue to cook the mixture on medium heat for an additional 30 minutes.  This is a good time to clean and prepare the peppers.  

Working in batches, mix the raw peppers with a ladle of the heated mixture and blend until very smooth.  Once the peppers have been successfully blended with the rest of the mixture remove the pot from the heat.

The best part about this recipe is that it retains the good taste of the habaneros without being overly spicy.  I mean, it's spicy, but enjoyable spicy.  Not cooking the peppers allows for this.  The longer the peppers cook the more they will lose their flavor.  So if the taste is as important as the heat - cook the peppers as little as possible.

At this point you need to decide on the desired level of consistency for the sauce.  I like mine to be 'spoonable' so I leave it as is and ladle it into hot jars.  If you prefer a thinner sauce (similar to store bought hot sauces), you are going to want to cook the mixture for another 20 minutes then run the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or jelly bag, and then add water to reach your desired level.

Once ladled into hot jars process the jars in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

The color is slightly off this year because we grew a different variety of Habaneros - they are called Mustard Habaneros.  They are larger and have thinner walls compared to the normal peppers and they ripen to an almost yellowish-green color instead of the normal orange.  

 Keep it real effin' hot pepper heads.

  

Sweet Mustard Banana Peppers

We have been very lucky with our Banana Pepper crop this season.  I had picked roughly 3/4 of a bushel on this day, and we easily have at least a bushel remaining.  We planted sweet, hot, and new variety that we had never planted before - inferno.  Because of some early season mishaps we are unsure which peppers are planted where, so it's a surprise every time you bite one!

I canned some the other day using a new recipe.  The written recipe is from Brant's parents, but I have seen similar recipes elsewhere.  They're awesome.  A bit sweeter than normal pickled peppers, but with the addition of mustard and celery seeds it balances quite well.  I had some with a chicken salad sandwich yesterday and on a bacon and egg sandwich this morning.  So good.

I cut the peppers vertically for this recipe, and am actually starting to prefer them canned this way.  I used approximately 3/4 bushel of peppers and had to triple the brine amount, the recipe is as follows:

Brant's Dad/Mom's Hot Peppers

1 Quart Vinegar (I used white and they look great)

3/4 Quart water

4 Cups Sugar (I halved this on a second batch and liked it a little better)

2 Tablespoons Mustard Seed

1/2 Tablespoon Celery Seed

Add everything together and bring to a boil.  Boil for 10 minutes then ladle over hot jars packed with peppers using the 'cold pack' method.  If you need further instructions on this let me know.  

Keep it real peppered.

Next Step - Drink! Our New Corker

I forgot to show you dudes and chicks the sweet new setup we have for our wine making.  An integral part to the aging process is a proper seal.  That's why you should not mess around with corking your bottles.

It pays to spend a little extra the first time.  Zirn works with a guy who is buddies with the owner of Winfield Winery and he said to never waste your time or energy on a handheld corker, go with the tabletop style - so we did.

It's so simple and smooth.  I wish beer bottlers were this nice, then I could avoid that oxidation taste I seem to get in my beers.

The bottom support is spring loaded so the height of the bottle does not matter, and the head will hold any of the common sized corks.  Here it is bottling a batch of Dandelion Wine.

A few more shots of how well it works and how nice it looks:

Keep it corked yinz.

Recipe: Homemade Pancakes

Here's a recipe for homemade pancakes that has been 5 years in the making.  Our hand written recipe book includes no less than 10 pancakes recipes (this seems to happen to most when trying to replicate IHOP).  We have finally developed a recipe that is fast, easy, and tastes great.

Tim and Jul's Homemade Pancakes

 Ingredient List:

1 1/4 Cup Flour

1 Egg

1 1/4 Cup Butter Milk (or regular milk with a dash of cider vinegar added).

1/8 Cup Sugar

1 heaping teaspoon of baking powder.

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.

2 tablespoons melted butter (hey, I didn't say it was fat free)

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.

Pinch of Salt.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a bowl with the sugar and salt.  

Mix the milk with the egg (beaten).  Add the cooking oil and the cooled melted butter.  BE SURE THE BUTTER IS COOLED.  If not it will clump and affect your outcome.

Once you have all of your wet and dry ingredients combined separately, mix them together but only mix lightly.  Mix only enough to combine the wet and the dry and then STOP.  Do not beat it like you're beating an egg.  Very lightly is the key.

Put your whisk down and walk away for at least 15 minutes.  

In the mean time pre-heat your griddle or griddle pan to 375 degrees, or medium high.

When the pancake mixture has formed bubbles on the surface, it is ready to go.  At this point if you are in the mood for thicker or thinner pancakes add a little water or flour to change your consistency but be careful.  The entire dish can be ruined as easily as it was made.

You know how to do the rest.  Watch for air pockets forming and then exhaling.  Once the top of your pancake is full of vacant air bubbles it's time to flip.

Flip it, cook until done, then serve with melted butter on top and real maple syrup.

Keep it griddle.   

The Day My Fall Garden Died

The Chevy was at the barn, not the levee.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night of the previous week and weekend we spent chasing two 2000 pound heifers around the farm.  Somewhere they were (and are still) escaping the pasture.  Yeah! What are you doing this weekend!?  I'm fixing a fence!

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to eulogize my first ever fall planted garden.  I had grand hopes and dreams of carrots from the garden well into the winter, Detroit Red Beets the size of softballs, and beautiful white headed cauliflower.  The spinach and Swiss Chard were growing great and we had been enjoying their green super food-awesomeness. 

Little did I know until yesterday while on a pepper picking extravaganza that cows eat spinach TOO!!!  AND CHARD, AND CARROTS, AND BEETS, AND PEAS, AND EVEN SOME TYPES OF PEPPERS!!!! 

Jerks.  Oh well, a lesson for next year - butcher annoying cows before they're smart enough to escape fences and eat all of your hard work.  Other than the sudden and bitter end to the garden season coming sooner than I had anticipated, I did have a great pepper harvest!

This second photo is not showing the almost full bushel of banana peppers that I ended up canning which you can see in the first one.

Lots of chilies.  I roasted and canned some earlier this season and they turned out great.  I'll most likely do that with these as well as freezing them.

Almost time for Habenero Hot Sauce!  These are a different variety this year.  Mustard Habeneros.  They're a bit larger and thinner walled.  They taste great.



I tried a new recipe for canned banana peppers from a friend.  They're packed in a sweeter than normal brine with the addition of mustard and celery seeds.  They're awesome, I'll post it in a few days. 

We still have a lot of peppers that will need picked prior to the frost and luckily cows don't seem to like the chilies.  If they change their minds - anyone want some beef???

Keep it spicy yo. 

Canning Whole Tomatoes

This time of year prohibits those of us who are gardener-food preserving-football loving-Sunday school teaching-hunting-father of two-husbands from doing much of anything besides those things that are mentioned, but I do want to be sure to continue to list recipes.

This blog WAS initially intended to merely be a place where I could list all of the recipes I have accumulated over the years instead of them being in a small notebook that I have to leaf through every time I need to find something - and it still is.  Hopefully those that care know to check back here if ever there is something they would like to re-visit.

In the coming days I will be posting a few of the more popular recipes in my notebook, Habenero Hot Sauce and my Homemade Pancake recipe (yes Cole, you will be able to return anytime you want to make them).

In the mean time I wanted to update on a few things that have been happening since the last post.  I canned whole tomatoes the other day, and plan on doing more tomorrow.  This is a great way to preserve the tomato harvest that requires little time and effort, and the opportunities are endless as to how you use them throughout the winter.  Soups, chili, sauces, tomato juice, etc.  The list goes on and on.

Start by removing the upper cores and any bad spots on the tomatoes.  I do this to all of the tomatoes before moving on to the next step.  Do whatever works best for you.

While you're cleaning the tomatoes up, have a pot of water coming to a boil on the stove.  You are going to blanch the tomatoes for 20-40 seconds in the boiling water and then immediately remove them from the boiling water and place them in a cold water bath.  This will allow the skins to slip off with just a pinch.

There are two ways to proceed from here.  You can can the whole tomatoes in water, or you can can the tomatoes in their own juice.  I always can them in their own juice.  The jars do not look nearly as nice, and it's a tad messier, but the flavor cannot be beat.

If you plan on canning the tomatoes in water bring a clean pot of water to a boil and tightly pack the skinned tomatoes into jars.  Pack them tightly but not so tight that you're changing the shape of the tomatoes, that will ruin your eye pleasing look.  Once the tomatoes are packed nicely, pour the boiling water over them leaving 1/2 inch head space.

If you plan on canning the tomatoes in their own juice simply fill your jars with the tomatoes and smash them together until you have enough juice to have only 1/2 inch head space.  Be sure to use a small spatula to remove any air bubbles when doing either technique.

Place both quarts and pints into a boiling water canner and process for 1 hour and 25 minutes.  Remove, cool, check seals, enjoy.

Keep it whole dudes.

Effin Awesome Recipes: Roasted Tomato and Garlic Sauce

As previously posted, we have on overabundance of tomatoes this year.  A good mix of hot days, lots of sunshine, and just enough rain to simulate a Mediterranean summer bode well for our southern European varieties of the fruit-vegetable - or is it a vegetable-fruit?  Or a vruit?  Or a fegetable?

Anyway, being one of the best and most popular vruits for home gardeners to grow and maintain, tomatoes are also one of the best for preserving. 

On two separate occasions this week we canned (jarred) plain tomato sauce (we also did a few with some homegrown dried herbs).  We first quartered the tomatoes and put them into a stock pot.  As we added the quartered tomatoes to the stock pot we smashed them with a potato masher.  Once the entire mixture was smashed pretty well we ran them through a food mill to remove the seeds and skins, then proceeded to cook the sauce for another 20 minutes before proceeding with the canning process.  We added lemon/lime juice and salt to the jars, and then processed them in a boiling water canner for approximately 35 minutes.  1 tablespoon of lemon/lime juice and 1 half-teaspoon of salt for pints, 2 tablespoons of lemon/lime juice and 1 teaspoon of salt for quarts.  Also, if you're adding dried herbs add them to the jar prior to adding the sauce.  We did a tablespoon of Rocky Mountian Oregeno in some, and a tablespoon of Lemon Basil to others.

For our third batch of sauce we did a roasted tomato and garlic sauce.  We first roasted the quartered tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt.

They were roasted at 425 degrees for approximately 35 minutes.

Roasting the tomatoes releases flavors not found when simply cooking them down in their own sauce.  You dudes really need to download the Smellzilla browser so that you can enjoy the fragrence of these beauties

We then put the roasted tomatoes into a roaster pan, and cooked them on high heat for about 30 minutes.

Once the tomatoes got to the consistency show above, we threw some garlic (2 full heads of average sized garlic) into the oven and roasted it with some olive oil for approximately 20 minutes.  While the garlic was roasting we ran the tomato mixture through a food mill to remove the seeds and skins.

Compost that.

We returned the cleaned tomato sauce to the roaster along with the roasted and smashed garlic and cooked it for approximately 1 hour until it thickened slightly.

We added lemon juice and salt following the amounts listed above, then added the jars to a boiling water canner for 35 minutes.  Doneso.  Yumso.  Fresh tomato sauce all winter long for pennies per jar. 

Can't beat it.

So to recap the week in food preservation:

28 jars of various tomato sauces.

2 gallon size freezer bags of frozen green beans.

1 gallon sized freezer bag of Silver Queen sweet corn, off of the cob.

4 jars of TCT Yellow Tomato BBQ sauce.

...and more pepper canning and Acorn and Butternut Squash baby food are being done this evening. 

In conclusion, please take some beans!  Make some soup, eat them fresh, make a casserole, freeze them, whatever - anything you want.  I will personally hand deliver them to you wearing nothing but a bean-leaf loin cloth.  Or I can wear clothes.  Whichever you prefer. 

We also have a million Straight and Crooked Neck Yellow Squash if anyone is interested or knows of someone in need.

Keep it saucey. 

The Greatest Tomatoes in the World

Never underestimate the importance of ordinary items that we take for granted.  Take the tomato for example.  Sweet, juicy, red, ripe tomatoes.  A staple in our 21st century lives.  Those of you who grow your own understand the incomparable difference between those that you watch grow up, and the garbage which are picked too soon, force ripened, and falsely sold as "tomatoes" on grocery store shelves.  That is not a tomato, and you'll never truly understand the difference until you have experienced both.

Trav, Greeny, and myself canned tomatoes two nights ago - Trav, Curt, and I canned more last night - and Greeny and I canned even more tonight.  Those tomatoes taste awesome, but that is not the reason why they are the greatest tomatoes in the world.  No, their greatness is much deeper.

For those of you unaware, my father passed away a little over 5 months ago of a sudden heart attack.    Devastating as it was and still is, our loss continually reminds me to slow down, smile, love everyone, and appreciate everything - especially these tomatoes.

There is something very special about these tomatoes.  Yes, one of the varieties grown is a 5 year Heirloom grown on the farm.  And yes another variety was purchased in an alley market on the streets of Pisa, Italy, seeded,  and successfully smuggled across international lines (thanks Pops).  Both great stories, but not as great as the fact that the seeds that would eventually grow into the plants that would eventually grow these tomatoes were indeed started by my father very shortly before he died, and this is why they are the greatest tomatoes in the world.

These tomatoes in a way kept us going as a family.  After a few sad, confusing weeks - the seeds sprouted.  We then took the time to transfer the seedlings into bigger pots.  Then we took turns watering.  It was a tag-team effort to get them to the point of planting and beyond, and as bad as we missed Dad, he was still a part of it.

Now the garden has exploded and is splattered with red and green.  It's tomato picking time and the garden has never looked better.  For reasons that don't need mentioned I will continue to save these seeds as long as I live, and will cherish the time and energy Pops put into teaching me about gardening and preserving.