Storm's a' comin; time to pick tomatoes

After learning about how acorn squash store, I went ahead and baked them all up on the grill.  Three acorn squash created about 2 half-gallon freezer bags of cooked squash.  I put them straight in the freezer as it just seems WAY too hot and humid to be eating acorn squash.  Maybe I can't think of the right recipe though...  Maybe with the next three, I'll try to eat them... maybe.  At any rate, freezing is the only option because thicker veggies like pumpkin and acorn squash can't be canned safely by water-boiling; it's too dense for the heat to penetrate.

It's supposed to thunder-storm tomorrow so I took all my pumpkins inside, brought in my drying mustard seed, picked my cherry tomatoes, and put all my poppy-flower seeds in a jar.  I'm excited for the deep-watering prospect that the storm is supposed to be bringing.  We'll see how it pans out though.  This is Oregon and the weather is unpredictable even from street to street and "rain" might not mean anything gets wet.

Here are some of my cherry tomatoes. 

This first bucket was picked by a 3 and 4 yr-old so... it had a lot of "less than red" tomatoes.  But, a few days and the bucket and they ripened right up.  So, it was actually a good thing.  The ones I picked tonight were pretty red but I'm going to leave them in the bucket overnight to hopefully get to full-strength!

When you pick veggies does affect the taste.  Tomatoes taste the ripest when they have been through the driest, hottest weather.  So always pick before watering or, like I did tonight, before an anticipated wet or cool spell.  Even if they have to sit inside for a few days to get fully red, you will avoid that wet, tasteless, taste.

The first batch of tomatoes I picked went for Salsa Fresca, which is my ultimate favorite way to eat any red tomato.  But, this batch will probably go for Tomatoes Gratin, we'll see if they make it. :)

Salsa Fresca

tomatoes, coarsely chopped
onion, finely chopped
salt and pepper
lime or lemon juice
cilantro leaves-optional
dash of garlic- optional

Mix and refrigerate.