• The Quiet Pleasure of Tomatoes

    The Quiet Pleasure of Tomatoes

    Tomatoes ask for patience before they give you anything. A seedling in May looks almost foolish, all stem and hope, leaning toward the light as if it has heard a rumor about summer. I love tomatoes. I love growing them and eating them. That sounds simple, and maybe it is, but the older I get,…

  • Growing Oregano – The Herb That Rewards a Little Neglect

    Growing Oregano – The Herb That Rewards a Little Neglect

    I’ll be honest with you: oregano is the rare plant in my garden that does better when I more or less leave it alone. I fuss over the tomatoes, I babysit the seedlings, I check the lacinato kale for flea beetles like a worried parent. Oregano just sits there in the sun, asks for almost…

  • Spiced Roasted Eggplant with Bulgur Salad

    Spiced Roasted Eggplant with Bulgur Salad

    Every October, the eggplant leaves in my garden end up looking like Swiss cheese. The flea beetles get to them the same way they do every year, and I never quite get around to fighting back. This fall, there was also a tomato hornworm, so enormous by the time I found it that I didn’t…