Almost there

After years of planning and months of relatively hard work, I think I'm becoming a bona fide gardener. 

I've been getting cucumbers, zucchini and tomatoes for a few weeks now, but take a look at this huge tomato and cantaloupe! Isn't that awesome?  I have to tell you, when I picked this stuff on Wednesday night, I was beyond proud.  Beyond!  Finally, after years and months and weeks and days and nights, I was mastering the "Gardening" aspect of becoming just. like. Martha. Stewart.  I had arrived!

I mean, tomatoes and cucumbers and zucchini aren't that hard to grow, but I was really impressed that I had gotten a cantaloupe out of my Midwestern garden.  Melons normally need more constant warmer temps to do well.  But there I was, with a huge, juicy melon!

I cut into it yesterday morning, intending to eat my fill of over-the-top yummy melon...only to taste the blandest piece of yuck ever to disguise itself as a cantaloupe.  Seriously, this thing was awful! 

You can only imagine what this did to my self-esteem.  I went from omg-I-am-JUST-LIKE-Martha-Stewart-because-I-have-mastered-gardening elation to holy-crap-this-is-a-bona-fide-disaster depression with just one bite.  I don't know what went wrong.  You can tell from the picture that it was a tad overripe--I probably should have picked it a few days earlier--but that shouldn't have affected the flavor that much.  The melon I grew had NO sweetness or even flavor to it...the texture said melon, but the taste said "bland butt."  Not cool, Garden, not cool!

Fortunately, before I broke out the xanax and curled into the fetal position, my huge tomato redeemed me.  Seriously, it was that good. It was like the biggest piece of juicy vegetable/fruit/candy ever.  This tomato completely restored my belief that I am, in fact, a gardener.

We grilled up hamburgers last night, and a slice of this tomato was bigger than the burger.  THIS is how hamburgers are meant to be served...THIS is why I will grow my own tomatoes from now until as long as I am possibly able. 

My plan for the weekend is to whip up a batch of pasta sauce from my roma tomatoes and bake some zucchini bread from (what else?) my home-grown zucchini.  Hopefully both endeavors will turn out fabulously, and I can put the horrific cantaloupe episode behind me.  Wish me luck!