You know what's better than being featured in magazines or on Bulgarian tv?

Homegrown tomatoes and peppers given to you by a friend.

And even better than that?

Helping pick said tomatoes and peppers in a garden. And contrary to popular belief, I<em> have</em> picked tomatoes before but, this said, picking peppers was a new thing for me.

I went out into the garden with A.'s mom and she told me in Bulgarian how to pick the tomatoes: only pick the red ones. Me: okay. Then bends over picks a tomato and adds: oh and the pink ones that look like this. She holds up a tomato. Me: okay. Then she yells over to A.'s dad: do you think she knows her colors? Me, in my head: Um, yes.

The thing is, when it came to picking peppers which ones to pick wasn't so clear to me. A.'s mom was picking red ones, green ones and ones that were both red and green with abandon. On top of this, she gave me no direction on which ones were oka

In Walla Walla, we joke that at the grocery store you know who doesn't have friends because they have to buy their own zucchini.