Ah, it's a good time to be alive in this section of the woods. The sandwich-size tomatoes are ripening on the vine, the volunteer grape tomatoes aren't far behind, and I've been experimenting with the various varieties of pluot I can find around town.

The tomatoes are great in the way that only home-grown can be. I let them stay on the vine until I can't stand it any more, then oldest youngling and I eat them like apples. We do save some for Mr. Solstice. He eats his on sandwiches (strange...).

I didn't realize there was such variability, but I've so far tried two varieties (and have a third sitting on the counter awaiting me).

I have a long-standing love of all things plum. Many of the various locations I lived in So Cal had plum trees, so I remember picking them right off the tree and eating them. Yum!

All the pluots I tried have smooth flesh. If they have fuzz, they are called an "aprium." None of the pluots I have tried so far have that bitter layer just under the skin, like plums do.

I first tried the pluot "Flavor Supreme." It was a mottled green color, so I was very surprised when I bit into it and encountered red flesh. Very red flesh. So red that oldest youngling asked me if my fruit had meat inside of it. It was quite sweet, and very soft, but not mushy or pithy. A nice fruit.

The one I tried today was a "Flavorella." A good fruit; I tasted more of the apricot in this variety than the plum, but it was nice and sweet. Oddly, the label on the fruit said "no sugar." No sugar? What's fructose, then? I'm not such an apricot fan, so I would probably not buy these again.

The ones waiting on the counter are "Flavor Heart." They are large, the size of a big red delicious apple, and dark, dark purple. They are "heart" shaped in the Valentine's day sense of the word, not like the actual organ. I haven't tried those yet. Apparently the flesh will be yellow.

The pluots I've tried so far have been yummy. Based on the store display, I'd say the Flavorella were either mishandled or are more sensitive than the other two varieties I have encountered, there were a lot of bruised ones. I'll buy more varieties as I find them...

And, for fun, I include this gratuitous WSJ link on how fruits are getting sweeter