I should probably just rename the whole blog Jacques Report. Here he is, adoring fans, in front of maybe half of this year’s tomato plants.
You may remember that last autumn Julien was the major recipient of the final harvest. I guess it went over well because this year he got serious about the kitchen garden. Food prices are crazy. The kids are growing. His wife is a great cook. So this year I have thirty tomato plants, not counting the volunteers. He has the drip system on timers. He has my plastic cloth set to stop weeds and catch anything that falls. Everything is trained up and he’s picking off the side shoots, the better to maximize fruit production and ripening. It’s working, too.
The strawberries are over. We’re all eating cucumbers, we being me, Julien’s family and Emily’s family.
Emily is my new but already indispensable cleaning lady. She’s not used to being sent home with produce but she seems to like it. Maybe she likes chard; I have a ton of it out there.
Later there will be Japanese eggplant and a few other things. I’d better work on my pickling and generally preserving technique because this year the fruit trees are kicking in. Is persimmon jam an option? Maybe persimmon chutney?
I have just returned from way too long in the south. It looks remarkably like southern California. Rocks, oleander, plumbago. It’s all behind me, which suits me fine.
I’m home and happy. I have a lot to catch up on and a lot of visiting friends to prepare for. I am more grateful than ever that I do not live in the city. Right now, that s enough.
At Home in France 