Featured Recipe - Cukes & Toms

2 cucumbers peeled and diced (I prefer Boston Pickling)
1 large tomato peeled and diced (I prefer Brandywine)
1 small/medium onion peeled and diced (I prefer Super Sweet Texas)
3-4 tablespoons italian dressing, enough to coat the veggies but not drench them (your favorite, but the fresh ones in the produce section are best)
pinch of salt to taste

Combine all these in a bowl, cover and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving to allow the veggies time to marinate in the dressing.  Serve as a fresh side to burgers, sandwiches, or any meal.

Cukes & Toms Time

After a hiatus to complete some much needed landscaping renovations, I'm back to blogging again.  And just in time to start discussing some of my garden favorites that are starting to bear.

A southern favorite at the dinner table this time of year is "Cukes & Toms".  Fortunately, even with the extreme heat and rain we've had in southern middle Tennessee this year, my cucumbers have held out to produce a pretty good bounty.  My favorite is the old standard Boston Pickling cucumber.  It's a variety that traces it's roots back to around 1883, that was "improved" in the 1950's to withstand mosaic wilt and other modern day diseases.  It is still considered an heirloom and is open pollenated, so that makes it a must have in any heirloom garden.

It matures at about 6" long and the vines bear heavily.  I usually plant no more than 8-10 plants each year that I trellis up page-wire fencing. This is sufficient to can a dozen or more pints of my favorite bread and butter pickles, plus provide fresh eating for weeks on end in salads or as Cukes & Toms (see featured recipe).  I hope you will give this one a try.

My First Blog

Preferring the simple life over the fast paced, high tech rat race of today has always been a way of life for me.  Although my "day job" demands I use computers and sophisticated technology, my heart belongs to nature and the great outdoors.  As I see more and more of the "old ways" of living slipping into oblivion I long to return to my roots and revive some of the tried and true, self-sustaining, pure and simple ways of living that I learned in my youth.  In particular, my passion is growing and preserving heirloom vegetables, free of chemicals, in my ever expanding urban homestead.  My guiding belief is that if my grandmother didn't grow it or use it, neither will I. 

I also love to visit the local farmer's market each week for those items I don't grow myself in order to support my friends and fellow farmers who share my passion for living a more natural life.   Of course, living this way is self serving as well...I get to enjoy some of the freshest, tastiest and healthiest foods imaginable.  If you've never eaten a true heirloom tomato, like a large slice of Brandywine on a fresh grilled burger, then you've missed one of the greatest joys of summer. When I was a child, I remember making "tomato sandwiches"...I didn't even need the burger!

As I continue this blog, I hope to share with all of you my passion for good food and encourage you to consider growing an heirloom vegetable garden of your own.  I'll be sharing with you my tips and strategies that I learned over the past 40+ years from country farmers, the Amish, and, of course...my grandma.  I hope you'll join me.