Gardening, part 2

TF-ers, I was a little bleak yesterday and I apologize for that.  While it's true that my tomatoes haven't (yet) turned out the way I expect them to, there are plenty of other great things going on in my garden.  And I've got some ideas on the tomato front.

First, the good news.  The eggplants that I've been growing are phenomenal.  They formed the basis, today, of a perfect sandwich for the beach.    I sauteed eggplant slices (dipped first in egg and then in bread crumbs), while broiling strips of red pepper (which I had tossed in olive oil and kosher salt).  I sliced open a baguette and made a sandwich of thinly sliced tomatoes (ouch -- they didn't come from my garden), eggplant, red pepper, and fresh mozzarella, with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar drizzled on top.   And also, some fresh basil, which also came from the garden.  At the moment of ecstasy, eating these terrific sandwiches with dear friends on the beach, it was hard to remember that I had anything to be depressed about when it came to the garden.

But, one can't repress bad memories forever.  And, since I am well aware that there isn't a ripe tomato anywhere in my backyard, I needed to come up with an alternative plan.  In fact, I've got two of them.  I have turned off the sprinkler and hope to really dry things out in the garden.  After all, water may be the problem.  Meanwhile, in the spirit of scientific experimentation, I have picked 3 good-sized (but green and pretty much hard as rocks) tomatoes, put them in a brown paper bag, and hidden them in a cabinet.  Maybe they'll manage to ripen that way.  Even if this doesn't work, a miracle may happen (some, or even one, of the tomatoes still growing on my plants might actually ripen without the help of brown paper).

I will keep you up-to-date on more exciting developments in the garden.  If you have any good recipes for either eggplants (my success) or tomatoes (which I will purchase elsewhere, if absolutely necessary), I'd love to hear them.

The heartbreak of a tomato gardener

I've been so busy gadding around writing posts about movies I've seen and books I've been reading that I have failed to talk about my garden, which sometimes sends me into fits of happiness and other times into pure despair.  There have been a variety of bean-related successes, for example.  Also a bumper crop of basil, some tiny but good radishes, a little rosemary and a single (so far) perfect eggplant.  So that's great.  We've kept the deer and the rabbits away and there's no (knock on wood) sign of bugs. 

But although I have about a dozen apparently robust tomato plants -- each one as tall or taller than I am (okay, Todaysfrase is a little on the short side, but all the same, these are good sized plants), there have been only a handful or so of ripe cherry tomatoes.  Nothing else.  Tomatoes are growing, but they are green and they are tiny.  The days (and weeks) go by and nothing gets ripe.  The situation is getting a little depressing because, after all, the summer is close to over.

TF-ers, do you have any ideas about what could be happening here?  I have been fertilizing (organically) like a maniac.  Weeding.  Watering daily.  But something has gone wrong.  Is it all those horrible thunder and lightning storms?  Too little water whenever there hasn't been too much?  The cold?  What else could it be?

To end on a happier note, let me reiterate my call for favorite tomato recipes.  Any good ideas?