End of Summer Garden Bounty
As summer is drawing to a close I am enjoying a bunch of tasty things in my garden. Despite the fact that I have been a neglectful gardener (Weeding? Who has time for weeding?) and things are looking overgrown, my garden has thrived in spite (or despite) of me. 
My herbs have been amazing. I really need to do some thinning in the area where I have my perennials for next year because they are crowding each other out now. My lavender has continued to flower even after I gathered some to dry, so I may gather more. I also plan to harvest and dry a bunch of the herbs and package them like I have in the past plus I am also thinking of making some compound butters. It just seems like a waste to not take advantage of my over abundance.
My zucchini plant was pretty prolific (aren't they always?) and I also had a decent crop of tomatoes. I actually have a lot of green tomatoes on the vine still so I am looking forward to having a few more before the weather turns. My lettuce has also been nice for some fresh salads this summer.
I really love fresh picked tomatoes from the garden. They always taste better than tomatoes from the store. One of my favorite ways to eat a tomato is to cut into thick slices and sprinkle a little sugar on top. I know it sounds a little strange but it really is delicious. Apparently my great-grandfather used to eat tomatoes this way and it has been passed down among the generations.
How has your garden turned out this summer? Did you do a better job of tending yours than me? What did you grow? Do you eat your tomatoes with sugar? Do you have any ideas of what else to do with an over abundance of herbs?
Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 1:12PM | Posted by Lisa | 3 Comments | Share Article | Email Article | Print Article 
Reader Comments (3)
Tending to the garden this summer was put off & put off - I blamed the horrible humidity & heat - seems justified does it not? Now to my horror the weeds are in abundance & thriving. Umm I wonder if Pinterest has any weed recipes. I have divided the garden into sections & have decided to weed one section a day - it all seems so overwhelming. I will try a little sugar on my next slices of tomatoes.
Mary-Lou- My weeds are really bad, too. The only thing that I was lucky about was that with my plants being overcrowded there wasn't a ton of space for the weeds to grow.
Yes, your great-grandfather Earl loved sugar on his tomatoes. It skipped a generation with your grandmother, but I loved eating them with him as a kid & acquired the taste, too. What kid doesn't like sweets! He would have loved to see you continuing the sweet tomato tradition. :)
Basil butter is my favorite herb spread, adding about 4:1 canola oil with chives, garlic and salt, keeps in the fridge and is spreadable shortly after you take it out of the refrigerator. Yummy on warm or toasted crusty bread, corn, veges or even steak! Would love to hear what other butters you come up with.