It’s only June and we have already had several days when the temperature broke 100 degrees. July and August are going to be miserable. To make matters worse, there has been no rain. We are in the mist of a devastating drought. Even more damaging is that we have slipped into another recession. All this is a possible replay of the Great Depression. We have another Dust Bowl, unemployment and no money. It’s going to be a long hot summer.

Even with all the heat, I prefer summer to winter. The other great thing about summer is the food. Food is just better in the summer. Fresh vegetables can’t be beaten. Homegrown tomatoes are a gift from the Gods. I can eat tomatoes from Mexico and other foreign places during the winter if they are disguised in a hamburger or salad with a lot of dressing. The tomatoes grown locally and ripened on the vine are a gourmet delight and I like to just slice them and eat them with other fresh vegetables, like peas, corn and okra. Of course, fried chicken is a perfect compliment to a tasty plate of fresh vegetables. Local watermelon is also a summer delicacy as well as peaches from the orchards in East Texas. Ice cream is nectar from the Gods that is best eaten on a hot summer day. I have paid multi-bucks for meals in fancy restaurants but none of these places compare to the summer delicacies prepared at home.

Other important facts about tomatoes are; they must be obtained straight from your own or a friends garden and be firm and red at the time of picking. They are also good if obtained from a local farmer who may be selling then by the side of the road. Even homegrown tomatoes seem to lose their rich taste if they are cycled through a store. Most are pretty good if bought at a farmer’s market, but sometimes the foreign substitute can sneak into these places.

Anyway, a friend just gave us a big batch of the red beauties from their garden, so I know what I will be eating for the next few days. Nothing in winter can beat the summer delicacies and the satisfaction of a home cooked meal. Even the news of a recession is tolerable with that kind of feast.