Days 95 - 101 What have we done with our food?

I was having lunch with a colleague the other day and we often talk about food...for we are eating of course!! Anyhow, I have been bringing tomatoes to share at lunch and he has been getting kind of used to having fresh garden tomatoes for lunch. He had gotten so used to it that he went out to buy some tomatoes when I was not supplying quite enough for him.

Well, he was not happy with what he got. He bought an heirloom variety from the local Whole Foods Market and what did he get? A tomato that looked great but tasted like nothing he had gotten used to. You might say...of course. Nothing compares to a home-grown tomato. What was he thinking? My response is that this tomato was from Whole Foods and it was an heirloom variety. Seems to me that that should have come from a farmer who nurtured that tomato from seed to fruit and would pick it only when it was the exact right time...for it was an heirloom... But not. He then had some figs that he bought too. Figs are expensive in the store and for the price you pay you would hope that you get something good. Nope. I tried one and could not finish it. Tasted like nothing. Not sweet at all. No hints of strawberries that we get in our figs. Not even close to a fig as I know it.

What will it be like when this is what we think food tastes like? I was down at Google this summer for a computer science symposium and they had some fruit plates out for people to snack on. A guy from Indiana picked up a fig and asked me what it was. He had never eaten one before...and I am sure I would have not either if I was from Indiana. I told him that it was a fig, he took a bite, and it was just awful. I told him that is not what a real fig tastes like...and he should try again when he can pick one off of a tree when it is ripe... I hope he does.

Day 95
1) 1 1/2 pounds tomatoes ($3.00)

Day 96
1) Two bunches chard ($6.00)
2) 1/2 pound grapes ($1.00)
3) Five figs ($1.00)

Day 97
1) 1/2 pound grapes ($1.00)
2) 3/4 pound tomatoes ($1.50)
3) Four figs ($1.00)

Day 98
1) One fig ($0.50)
2) 3/4 pound grapes ($1.50)
3) One basket of strawberries ($2.00)

Day 99
1) 1/2 pound tomatoes ($1.00)
2) 1/2 pound grapes ($1.00)

Day 100
1) 1/2 pound tomatoes ($1.00)

Day 101
1) 1/4 pound tomatoes ($0.50)
2) Five figs ($1.00)

Weekly harvest: $23.00

Total Produce Harvested (Year-to-Date): $715.50
Total Honey Harvested (Year-to-Date): $220.00
Expenses (Year-to-Date): $70.00 (water)