Utah tomatoes make me cry

I have been so super busy. I apologize for the lack of posts. But, boy, oh boy, do I have some recipes and things to SHARE!

Ready, Set, GO!!!!

First, I have been beyond emotional lately.


Jordan's dad remarried last Saturday in Pocatello, so off we drove on Saturday for the wedding. He has married a wonderful women and I am so happy to have her apart of the family and apart of our lives.

But that hasn't stopped the tears lately. Today I completely broke down at dinner and started crying to Jordan because I am so, so, so sad the children will not remember Grandma Nadine. There were a million amazing things about her and it makes my heart break they will not remember her. I am so grateful for Carole, and for the Grandma she will be, but I'm still sad about the whole thing.

Speaking of Grandma's...Have you ever become so lost in your thoughts, the world around you literally disappears. A few days ago I was making this amazing tomato salad, recipe to follow, that created just that scene.

An amazing lady, by the name of Kim, that Jordan works with, and whom we've become good friends, also has a ginormous garden in Provo and let's us "glean" what the others don't pick on Monday's. I am so grateful for this because we are getting so many fresh, nearly organic vegetables!

So, she has like a million tomato plants and I picked around 6 or 7 of these heirloom, beefsteak tomatoes, absolutely gorgeous. But even more incredible than the garden or how many tomato plants she has, they are, ooooooohhhhh, and this is the exciting part...UTAH TOMATOES!

Now, if you've never had a Utah tomato, you really have no idea what I'm talking about but if you have, you KNOW exactly what I'm talking about.

Ok, so here's the point of the tomato story. So I'm making Ina Garden's Tomato Feta Salad, cutting my tomatoes, and I just start crying.

Again, why so emotional Natalie? (Yes, I talk in 3rd person)

So I omitted the feta because I didn't have any. But you could put in Goat feta or regular based on your desire and needs!
Oh so delicious! 

Well, I have many distinct memories of visiting my Grandma and Grandpa Hinckley, who still have their home literally 5 mintues down the highway from me in Highland (we are talking about 25+ memories of a home and people). We would come and visit Utah every year as a family growing up, and I would go and have Utah tomatoes out of my Grandma's garden every year. I miss Grandma so much. She died over 8 years ago, and I still cry thinking about her. As a matter of fact I'm crying right now as I write this. I can still see her hands cutting the tomatoes and the smell of them on the dinner table. She would boil them, eeeeekkkkkk, and peel the skin. Now that is not something I do, but I love tomatoes, and I know it is because of her and getting to go and pick them with her and watching her make them for us that I have such a love of tomatoes.

Well, as I am making this recipe, I am completely dreaming about seeing and being with my Grandma, when Sean yells, "mom, you hear me?"

Opps, yes son, I hear you. Well, not really...