Simple Shapes, Complex Flavors!

Another Brandywine approaches its salmony-hued ripeness. These tomatoes don't turn a a rich bright red. At maturity they have a pinkish, almost magenta outer skin. The flavor is a mix of sweet with a bit of savory, and they are amazing looking inside as well. They have no 'center' area that so many tomatoes have coming down from the stem. The entire interior is a soft fleshy juicy mass of tomato 'meat' with pockets of seeds and 'jelly' throughout, not just around the edges.

OK, in the interest of full disclosure, I haven't actually tasted my Lemon Cucumbers yet. Instead of being a zuchini shape and dark green, these cukes will turn yellow and stay almost perfectly round. They are supposed to carry a hint of citrusy lemon-like flavor too. I'll let you know, as I have about three that can probably be picked in the next few days. I have at least 25 of these plants. When I had to thin them out as the seed package said to, they all looked so healthy I just couldn't toss the 'extras' so I planted them all around the outside fence of the garden, with the dahlias and the cutting flowers, and I didn't lose a single one. They don't even need to be tied or staked. They send out long tendrils that hook onto anything around them, like morning glories, and they've tied themselves to the fence, inside and out. They have great little bright yellow flowers too. Cucumber and lemon in one vegetable, sounds like a complex flavor to me!

OK, I haven't eaten one of these yet  either... This is a group of three German Striped tomatoes. The "striped' part apparently comes from the three-dimensional ribs on the outside that continue to thicken as the fruit matures. I thought they might end up striped in color, but it's the texture. How cool and how sculptural!