I know… it has been almost two months since my last post. But in case you haven’t noticed, something is different ’round these parts. Welcome to MY BRAND SPANKING NEW BLOG! I Shot the Chef 2.0 is now here for your viewing pleasure. My wonderful husband Stephan, who also happens to be my personal photographer and web designer, has been working hard on all the details of my new blog. Hope you like it! Thank you Stephan for spending so much time to make me the most gorgeous and functional blog! You da Bomb!

On to the fabulous veggies… I’ve always had an awful black thumb. When it comes to houseplants and herbs, I’d be a convicted murderer. So many times I’ve bought herb plants and they died within a week or so. My mother is the queen of African Violets (and many other plants) and my dad has an enormous vegetable garden, so I don’t know where my black thumb came from. I guess I just didn’t understand (or appreciate) how simple it was to grow your own food… until recently.

The past few years, we’ve visited Stephan’s parent’s in September which is the tail end of growing season in Germany. I would eat dozens of amazing cherry tomatoes every day when I’m there (along with the AMAZING German Bread… mmmm.) I decided this year that I would actually try my own garden. The fact that my in laws were coming to visit us a few months later and my father in law was going to hook me up with an automatic drip irrigation system really helped boost my confidence. So I did it. I planted a plethora of tomatoes and peppers and now I see the light. Yes, I have to spend time on the garden and it is definitely a daily chore, but the benefits are so amazing that it is totally and completely worth it. I haven’t bought peppers or tomatoes in at least 2 months. I figure I have still at least another month of both.

Every other day I go out and pick two pints of cherry tomatoes and a regular tomato or two. Can you imagine how cool it is to go out in your backyard and do that? Very. I highly suggest anyone that has a little bit of yard or even a big apartment terrace to try planting some veggies. You can’t beat the flavor and it is truly organic.  If you want to see more pictures of my garden, check out my flickr gallery.