In Search of a Better Tomato

I started to write this post on Tuesday, but other duties called me away. So now that I have a spare moment I thought I would finish it up.

We had an absolutely beautiful weekend in Austin. Hubby and I took advantage of it and did lots of spring like things. Saturday, I got a little container garden going and Sunday we spent cleaning. So now that our carpets are shampooed, the windows sparkling clean and all the dust mites have run away for fear of their lives, I can take a minute and give you the report on my garden that I’ve been thinking about since Saturday.

I love gardens. When I was a little girl, my mother and stepfather inherited a garden when they bought their house after their relocation to England. They then made it their own. Actually, I should say that my stepfather took off with the idea and my mother did a lot of the hard work. On the very back of the property there were a variety of fruit bushes, including black currants. I loved to lie there sheltered by the plants, reading over and over again “The Secret Garden” and the “Heidi” series .

We only lived there for three years, but each year they put a lot of work into that garden. My mother learned how to do a lot more in the kitchen then she had previously imagined. One of her most successful endeavor was the making of black currant jam, something totally unique and wonderful to my young American palate.

In truth, it became the name of my blog because of all the other names I thought of had already been taken. I guess I’m not as original as I’d like to believe. However, there really is quite a bit of significance in the name Black Currant Jam. It’s always been like an inside secret for me, up until recently, black currant jam has been practically unheard of the United States and very difficult to procure. So it represents a unique experience that I had as a child; my experience in England really was a defining one. It’s also something that I truly enjoy, but which has been made all the more special in its scarcity. Joy is something that you have to remain open too. Don’t take it for granted and you’ll experience it much more regularly.

Well, I certainly went off on a little tangent there and I still haven’t told you about my search for a better tomato, but I will, with pictures and all. I hope that you enjoy this weekend as much as I enjoyed this last one.