Homegrown Tomatoes aka Slices of Heaven

In the backyard of our average suburban house was three gardens. Two of them were flower gardens with an array of different colors. Every Saturday morning, my mom and I used to go out and pick flowers. Then she would put them in a vase in my room. My favorite flowers were the marigolds, and not because of their unpleasant fragrance, but because of the beautiful shades of yellow and orange.

The other garden was a giant one filled with vegetables at the far end of the yard. We grew corn, peppers, and onions. But our most prized crop was the humble tomato. Growing tomatoes in our garden was like a religion for my family. Still to this day the smell of a tomato plant is the fragrance of my childhood. We didn't grow the beautiful picture perfect red tomatoes either. My family was partial to growing heirloom tomatoes. Our favorite of the heirloom family was the caspian pink. The flavor of this tomato was uncomparable to any other. Once the tomatoes were ready to be harvested, they were used in almost every meal during the summertime. BLTs, tenderloin sandwiches, grilled chicken salad, cheeseburgers, and omlets were just a few of the things the tomato was featured in.

I always looked forward to summertime as a child. It meant no school and hot summer days. I could sleep in as late as I wanted and I could watch all of my favorite cartoons. But most importantly it meant that I could have a little slice of heaven, other wise known in my family as a tomato steak with a dash of salt.

Even though we had these delicious tomatoes in the summer, they didn't just pop out of the earth. The whole family had to contribute to make our precious tomatoes possible. Helping to plant, water, and weed the tomato plants at a young age taught me to appreciate the earth and the opportunity for growth in the soil. However with growing vegetables in Missouri, there were always obstacles. The weather in Missouri is brutally unpredictable. There would be peculiar late winters, devastating droughts, or even rather heavy rainy seasons. Some years the weather resulted in little to no tomatoes. Then other times, we would have an abundance of vegetables to the point where we would share them with friends and family.

Having gardens in our backyard made me appreciate food in more ways than I could explain. I believe it's the reason why I love so many different kinds of food.