Thursday, August 19, 2010

Garden fresh

I've referenced Anna's Garden before, blogging about the Thai chili peppers and basil we grow behind the restaurant. I also have a garden in my backyard at home, but I want to assure all of True Thai's customers that our locally grown produce comes from the Chang Family gardens, and not my backyard!

Why is this important? Because this is a picture of what one of my homegrown tomatoes typically looks like:


Some friends have speculated that there is nuclear waste buried in my backyard. Others blame it on the three cats buried there. All I know is that I am very grateful to the Chang family for selling their garden fresh produce to us for use at True Thai.

The Chang family has sixteen acres of peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, gailan and other produce growing at four locations just outside St. Paul. Their tomatoes do not look scary like mine do. They taste better too. If they didn't, we'd stick with our usual vendors but to tell you the truth, many of our vendors buy locally during the summer months. Most of True Thai's jalapeños and Thai peppers are locally grown, even in the winter.

I don't know who Lewis Grizzard is, but I've always like this quote from him:
It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.
Fortunately, Mr. Grizzard never had to eat a tomato from my backyard, and I promise that if you dine at True Thai, you never will either!