I didn't get a chance to grow too many things this last summer, but I was able to get in a really nice crop of tomatoes. Above you see one of several sets of ripened tomatoes.
I planted a rather amusingly named "Mortgage Lifter" variety of tomato. The tags on the plants told the tale of a fellow during the Depression who sold his variety of tomato plants at $1.00 each in order to pay off his mortgage and save his property, thus giving the plant its name.
I do not think these tomatoes will help me pay off any debts, but they grew into vines that were 5-7 feet long (they laughed at my small attempts to tie them upright; they really needed a heavy duty cage). The size of the plant and the number of tomatoes they put on were both impressive. Unfortunately, the bugs thought so too, so I had to pick most of them a bit early to avoid them being eaten or rotting.
The first set I harvested cooked down into a rather nice pizza sauce that I hope to replicate soon. However, it took a lot of tomatoes to make relatively little sauce, so I think I'll be looking for a paste tomato variety next year. But cooking them down couldn't have been easier! I just chopped them up, and left them simmering on the stove until they were the consistency I wanted. Then I put them through the blender for good measure.
Voila! Tomato sauce!