Ok, I have to admit, I’ve imposed a bit of a daunting task on myself.  Yesterday I purchased a crate of tomatoes–61 pounds, to be exact.  The tomatoes in our garden this year are just not what they should be. We’re getting some of course, but not the quantities that we should be getting for the 18 plants that we have growing.  And, I really want to put up a lot of tomatoes this year–more than I usually do.  I bought the crate from Merrifield Farm in Cornish, via their booth at the Portland Farmers Market.  They helped me get it into my car, but once I was home with no one to help me but a two-year-old and a four-year old, getting it into the house was, I’m sure, a humorous sight indeed (not to mention a back-stressing one).  This is why the crate never made it to the kitchen counter, but instead remained where I managed to drag it to on the kitchen floor.   I was blown away by the sheer quantity of tomatoes, and felt the odd desire to lay them out on the dining room table so that I could really get a good look at them.  Both boys were napping, it was a rare, quiet, beautifully peaceful moment in the house…..and that little nagging voice in my head was telling me that I should be doing something more productive than admiring tomatoes.  I decided to ignore it, for a moment anyway….I’d be diving into them soon enough.  After all, the quantity was awe-inspiring, and they were nothing short of beautiful.

tomatoes in bulk, Aug. 25, 2010

Tomatoes in Bulk, Aug. 25, 2010