Tomatoes!

Last week I was on vacation -- and though I had technical difficulties that prevented blog posting, I am back and my difficulties are all solved.

Before we left we had tons of green tomatoes and now we have tons of ripe ones. We planted a number of varieties and we have a large variety of colors. They range from purple, red, yellow and even green and we have all sizes and types. Most of the ones we planted were heirlooms and we hope to save some seeds from the best ones.

The next few nights, I will be peeling and freezing tomatoes as they ripen. At first I was a little concerned about having tomatoes that were different colors but I think they are beautiful. Interestingly, the green zebras are some of the most flavorful. If I closed my eyes and did a taste test I don't think I would know they were green. The yellow and orange ones are very good, too.

They aren't all beautiful. Some had worm holes and a few were overly ripe. It had been a week since we picked them but it was nice to look at the tomatoes and see all the colorful tomatoes on the vines. My husband said that he wished we would just plant red ones. He is a little put off by the black cherry tomatoes and I don't think he really likes the purple ones. Next year, we probably will try to have mostly red ones.

I think even with the different colors, the marinara will be great. For now, I will be freezing tomatoes because I will be a bit short on time this week. Usually, I can the tomatoes so I hope I have enough for canning later. I would love to make some salsa later, too. I know I will also have a really good tomato sandwich -- my favorite summer treat.