The Touching Tomato Garden Story

An old, Italian man lived alone in the country.   He wanted
to dig his tomato garden, but it was very hard work as the
ground was hard.   His only son, Vincent, who usually  helped him,
was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and
described his predicament.

Dear Vincent,  

I am feeling pretty low because it looks like
I won’t be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I’m just
getting too old to be digging up a garden plot.   I know if you
were here my troubles would be over.   I know you would be happy
to dig the plot for me.  

Love, Dad

A few days later he received a letter from his
son.

Dear Dad,  

Don’t dig up that garden.   That’s where I buried
the bodies.  

Love, Vinnie

At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police
arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies.
They apologized to the old man and left.   That same day the old man received another letter from his son.

Dear Dad,  

Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now.   That’s the
best I could do under the circumstances.  

Love you, Vinnie

   

People just send me this stuff.   No kidding.   :)…Jeanie

pictured: Some shots I snapped this morning of my future.   And it is good!

Asparagus Beans

I came across a package of Asparagus Bean seeds I’d forgotten about and had no room for.   I popped a few seeds into a potted jasmine container and forgot about them.   On a drive-by watering a week or so ago, I thought  I saw some green yarn tangled in the plant, but found instead that these bright green, very long, skinny beans were growing through the jasmine.  

 

In rereading the package, I learned that they will grow to 3 feet long if you want to harvest the bean from the pod, but to eat like a regular snap bean, you harvest them at 12-15 inches long, braid them and steam them for an unusual presentation.   Once they pop out, they seems to grow about 4″ a day.

They are funny looking, but fun.   The flavor, so says the package, is like a mix between asparagus, mushrooms and beans.   I stir-fried some and it was good, but I didn’t really detect 3 flavors.   I am still amused that it is like eating a shoestring-licorice style vegetable.