Topics of Special Interest to Me

In my first two books, I covered some pretty serious topics. I would now like to change the tone to some more lighthearted topics that are of special interest to me. I speak to people, and they say, "I have a black thumb. I cannot grow anything!" Or "I can't cook, I burn everything!" I would like to share a few things that I have learned over the years that have helped me become what I would like to believe is a fairly decent cook. When I take some of my dishes to gatherings of friends (particularly our small group meetings or Deacons' meetings), I get high marks. One of the guys in my small group says, "I don't worry about what you are bringing, Eldon. It is always good." I have also learned things about gardening over the years that have helped me change from a "plant it and trash it" gardener to a guy who can produce my favorite summer treat, fresh tomatoes! I rarely buy tomatoes in the store because they have no flavor. Commercially produced tomatoes are bulk harvested while they are still green and gassed with ethylene to turn them red. They refer to this as ripening, but it merely turns them red. Commercial tomatoes cannot match fresh grown tomatoes because, in the extra time the fruit hangs on the vine, it develops sugars from the sun ripening them which commercial tomatoes do not get. I hope that you enjoy these topics of special interest to me.