Although the Wooly Kate grows well in Hawaii and humid places it grew ok here, I planted in a big pot instead of the ground, I think it was hindered by that, but I still got a few tomatoes and it was enough to convince me that I want to try again next year, this tomato has the texture and skin of a nectarine and is sweet, I cant wait to grow it in a better conditions. They have a peach fuzz skin and are so unique, you can see it on the photo bellow, especially on the stem, they make a beautiful presentation because of the color and would work nicely sliced and stacked on a cheese board or just for snacking, they are a stand alone, delicious by themselves. mine only got to be cocktail size and the plant grew about 6 ft, they might get bigger under different circumstances

Prairie fire tomatoes are touted for being the sweetest tomato in the world, I love the shape and the color, orange with bright orange sparks. Even though they are very sweet, they are not a very firm tomato, so they are not as good for snacking, slicing or for cooking on a pizza, they are too juicy, I think they would make excellent salsa and sauce because of their sweetness. My plant did okay here, it only got to be about three ft. tall, but had plenty of tomatoes. I will be making some salsa from the harvest, how it turns out is going to be the deciding factor if I will be growing it next year, there are over 10,000 varieties of tomatoes and if one is not as good as I thought it might be. I need the room to try a new one.

Queen of the night tomatoes are so beautiful, they are tart and tangy with a sweet finish, they have a firmer, but juicy texture, the skin is medium in thickness, they start out black and green, turn to orange and black and then get some deep red sparks. they make beautiful Bruschetta and Pico de Gallo because of the black and orange red contrast. They are smaller in size but bigger than a cherry tomato, I would put them in the cocktail tomato size category.  They are somewhat prolific, my plant produced more tomatoes than some of the others that I planted this year, It grew about 4 ft tall and they were the first to ripen. They grew well and healthy in my area, I feel like they have a place in my garden and in my kitchen from now on.

This last weekend we worked the Mermaid Festival, I was able to capture this amazing photo of the fire and our Hawaiian Fire pizza. Sorry I didn't get any other photos, but this one makes up for that.

For this wedding I am going out of the box, I am trying some new recipes and some of my tried and true, the crackers, blackberry balsamic glaze and teriyaki mushrooms that I made yesterday are new as well as the marinated olives, the molasses bread I make quite often, this sometimes backfires and there will be an occasional recipe that doesn't turn out, if I can tweak it to get what I want I just don't bring that one :)

We are catering a wedding this next weekend and I wanted to share some of the things that I am making, We are doing our usual wood fire pizza, pastas and salads but a new thing we are trying is a charcuterie table, I love to try new things, I have done small boards and boxes before but nothing this big, I am wanting it to be more of an olive  or antipasto bar rather than a meat and cheese board. There are a lot of things that cant be prepared until the last minute to maintain freshness, so this is what I started on today, these will go well with the other recipes that I am making in the next few days,  I plan on posting every day what I get done until the wedding is over,

Easy Kale, Beet Green and Brussel Sprout Leaf Chips

I got my garlic harvested, I decided to braid it, I am happier with the size this year over last years, next year I think I will try elephant garlic.

Lilacs have that distinct smell, when you get a big whiff of them it’s almost like ie it teleports you to another era, besides the fact that they are so beautiful and romantic. There are more uses for them then you probably thought, they are an edible flower, you can use them to decorate cakes and cookies, used as a beverage, you can make tea and flavored water, wine and cordials, they make beautiful jelly, honey and syrup, they can be used in soap making and  facial products and also used for medicinal purposes. Here are some that I thought were interesting https://www.mynaturaltreatment.com/health-benefits-of-lilac-flowers-uses/#6_Natural_Remedies_with_Lilac_Flowers  Lilac is also said to cleanse parasites from the intestines , reduce fever and to keep diseases from reoccurring. Of course its always good to do your own research and note that some people have allergies to to some herbs and flowers, Lilacs are of the olive family, so if you are allergic to olives, chances are you are allergic to lilacs.