AeroGarden Cherry Tomatoes: Mighty Mini Indeed

After 28 days...

After 53 days...

This feels like I'm on the way to a great "How it started" vs "How's it going" Instagram story, I just need to let the tomatoes ripen and the photo will be amazing. These are 6 Mighty Mini Cherry Tomatoes growing hydroponically in my Aerogarden Bounty Basic. I put the pre-planted pods into the water-filled machine. Add fertilizer, set the date, time and tell it Tomatoes and Voila! I have a beautiful indoor garden developing.

The machine sends messages to me in a "crawl" on the screen. The most exciting one was that it was probably time for me to be the "Bee" and help the plants blooms get fertilized! I could use my finger or a paint brush to dust between the blossoms and spread the pollen, or it offered that I could shake the branches, but that felt like it risked snapping off tender shoots. I used a paint brush and hummed as I fertilized. It definitely worked because my plants are loaded with tomatoes.

The crawl banner says that the plants will set the fruit and then take a long time to ripen. I will update you when I harvest, I promise.
 

Ombre Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes

I did not use a filter. I did not tweak the lighting. What you see is what I saw and I am still stunned by it. Look. At. These. Tomatoes.

This ombre display was offered in a booth at the West Seattle Farmers Market on Sunday, Sept 24. I regret not buying any, but it's almost as if I didn't want to disturb the display. 

If you see heirloom cherry tomatoes, buy them! They are as beautiful as they are delicious. 

#tomatoes #farmersmarket #ombre #ombreiseverything #seattle

Puzzled: When Food Could Be Art

I can't be the only one that thinks this would make a beautiful puzzle, yes? It would be hard, but what a lovely image to stare at on a rainy afternoon.

I took this photo last week at Cedar Sol Hydro Farm in Cedar, Michigan. I came for the tacos, but I was captivated by the tomatoes. The farm is king this time of year and I am a happy subject.  

Really Homemade Tomato Soup

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I was inspired to try this recipe for canned tomatoes when I saw an episode of Laura Calder's "French Food at Home" on the Cooking Channel last year.  So in August, I filled 4 jars with "Sweet 100" cherry tomatoes (from my pot of tomatoes on the patio) and off I went, with hopes of homemade tomato soup in the Winter.

Now fast forward...I opened my first jar yesterday!  To my relief, it gave a satisfying "whoop" when I broke the seal; my first time canning was a success.  The recipe calls for sealing small tomatoes, a piece of onion and a sprig of thyme in the jar.  When I poured the contents into the soup pot, I only had to add a bit of milk and salt, heat and then puree it into soup with an immersion blender. 

It worked like a charm and gave us 2 satisfying bowls of soup for a snowy Tuesday.