Real Tomatoes

Sometimes things happen over a period of time and we don't realize that the change has occurred. I like tomatoes and this week I was reminded of what a real tomato tastes like.

Guy and Debbie are visiting and Debbie is a gardener....both vegetables and flowers. She works with Urban Harvest in Houston and she works in several community gardens. She really is a serious gardener. I wanted her to see Jon and JoAnn's rancho near San Miguel because they are very serious gardeners too. See Jon's blog here. They have vegetable, herb and flower gardens and they are into a re-forestation project with native plants on their rancho.

So off we went one morning to Rancho de Luz. As usual we managed to get a bit lost but then found our way out along the rutted roads. The last time I saw the Rancho was back in April when the landscaping for the house had just been put in. It looked nice but now.....Wow! With all the rains, the native plants and cactus were glorious. In April it still looked hot and dusty but now it was green and cool. JoAnn gave us a tour. What an amazing amount they have accomplished in about a year's time.

The herb gardens are still full and the raised vegetable gardens are still producing. JoAnn gave us a sack of tomatoes....several varieties of heirloom tomatoes. Heirloom tomatoes don't necessarily have the look of perfection that supermarket tomatoes have but they are a 1,000 times better. I had forgotten what a real tomato tasted like until I bit into one of the heirlooms. The texture, the taste everything about them is amazing.

We had two tomato salads....just the tomatoes, basil, a sprinkle of feta and a bit of balsamic vinegar. Delicioso. And we still had enough for tomato and mayo sandwiches....one of Ned's favorite sandwiches as well as adding tomatoes to regular sandwiches. I savored every bite of those tomatoes.

Next year I may have to grow some Real Tomatoes on the terrace over the bedrooms.