Excitedly, we went to the Salem Saturday Market to pick up the Chocolate Cherry tomatoes we'd put on hold the week before. They were looking good, and I picked up a nice paste roma to round out my little tomato garden that will produce the foundation of fantastic tomato soup. (We ate the last jar of my last batch just this week.)
We also picked up some strawberries (two distinct types) and raspberries. We were giddy with anticipation of our favorite summer treats, for just Friday night we'd been working in the yard and I'd found a few ripe strawberries that we sampled; they were so scrumptious it almost made me cry. Like eating sunshine. I'd even sampled a raspberry - deep pinkish red but I knew it was too early yet. While it tasted a little tart the RASPBERRYNESS of it bowled me over. They are Cascade Dawns and I have yet to taste anything that equals them. Thankfully they are doing well, and spreading like mad. There are many thick bunches of berries coming on. And the blueberries! They look wonderful. Can't wait.
Our picks from the market, however... disappointing. Both types of strawberries simply lacked flavor. They were... blah. And the raspberries? OVERripe if you can believe it, yet almost totally tasteless.
Is the weather just messing with things here this year, or what?
Thankfully, our back yard seems to be a little haven of flavor. The tomatoes I picked from EZ Orchards and planted three weeks ago are going gangbusters with dark green new growth, bursting with blooms already and there are even a few small fruit that have set. I hate to see that so early, but I can't bear to pluck off the blooms and fruit.
Very Good.
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