Homegrown Goodness

The payoff for all my effort! A nice, big pot full of fresh veggies from my kitchen garden.














In February I sowed the pepper seeds and in March the tomatoes. The cukes and squash didn't get in the ground until late May.

Here we have a purple bell pepper, Tam Jalapenos - supposedly a mild jalapeno - but they are hot to me! Also a green banana-type sweet pepper that was knocked off the plant in a recent storm. I much prefer waiting for the sweet peppers to turn color - it adds so much flavor - but won't let a green one go to waste.










Lemons? No - but they are fun to look at. The darker yellow trio are plum tomatoes - very meaty with hardly any juice - very mild flavor. And the lighter yellow threesome are summer squash. Perfect to use in any summer squash recipe - I like mine stir-fried with onions, garlic, mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes with a bit of hickory salt, fresh-ground black pepper and a couple teaspoons of the sour cream and chive seasoning we get at the Mennonite store.

And the cukes are going crazy! I had hoped to make some pickles, but there just isn't enough time, nor enough small pickles at once. That's ok - I eat them raw, as refrigerator pickles and share with family and friends. The long one is an asian type called Suyo Long. Very prickly, very long, with lots of ridges. The other type is Snow's fancy pickling - also prickly, though not quite as much. Both are delicious!