I would be lying if I didn't admit that I've prayed for a frost or two! The tomatoes have and continue to be overwhelming. I'm seriously grateful for what my tomato plants have produced this year...but, enough already! The plants are huge and overflowing with all shapes, sizes and ripeness levels in the tomato kingdom outside my door. On top of this...we, in our insanity, picked three bushels of ripe tomatoes for our annual "Tomato Palooza 2014" canning event.
Picking tomatoes with a 3 year old was a "fun?" adventure. We all ended up with squished tomatoes all over our shoes...still...at least that Sprout knows where a tomato comes from! Also...on that upside...she knows what a tomato is!
Something incredibly satisfying about bottling your own tomatoes. We successfully canned 55 bottles of these red beauties. We split them between our 3 little families and they are seriously cherished and enjoyed through out the coming year. Once we invested in our glass bottles the cost of canning each year is minimal. A tad of salt, a drizzle of lemon juice and tomatoes. We were able to pick our own tomatoes at a local farm for the brilliant price of $13.00 per full bushel...I figure (loosely) that these beautiful quart bottles of tomatoes cost us just under a buck each! We also don't have to worry about that pesky BPA coating in commercial canned tomatoes. We don't need to be consuming neuroendocrine disruptor's in our marinara. Most of the big names in canning supplies are now making lids BPA free as well...
Hubs wanted to grow San Marzano variety tomatoes...or...Roma's...they are firm and fleshy and good for making marinara sauce, paste, pizza sauce, etc.
Roma's with a few cherry tomatoes...I have picked and processed Roma tomatoes until I have wanted to cry...I'm sad to admit that. I don't want any to go to waste and feel compelled to somehow preserve them...this in turn causes me to want to cry!
Pretty much every other day I have been able to go out and pick enough tomatoes to roast and freeze. I would also pick Mexican oregano, rosemary, basil and lemon thyme. Add our own peeled garlic, salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and you have the fixin's for some fine roasted tomatoes!
If you want your house to smell really, really delish...pop a cookie sheet full of these garden fresh ingredients into your oven for 5 hours at 275F degrees. My freezer is chock full of these!
But...those tomatoes...they just keep growing!!!
Out of desperation I decided to dry some in my food dehydrator...Then I added them to a cute bale jar and topped it off with olive oil...
Oh, I know...how about making some ketchup???
I used the ketchup recipe found in my favorite cookbook, "The Homemade Pantry" by Alana Chernila. Again...I walked out to my garden and picked a variety of fresh tomatoes. Ketchup takes awhile to make and has a boatload of spices in it. Still...it was an especially satisfying project and I'm in LOVE with the results. It's really, really good! I think I won't be buying store bought ketchup anytime soon...
And again...the tomatoes keep growing and ripening...sigh...(thank you Mother Nature! I seriously love the tomato bounty and will cherish these throughout the winter...I'm just running out of ideas and storage space!)
Oh, how about "honeyed-yellow tomato butter"? Sure...why not?! I just happen to have a yellow tomato variety growing in my square foot garden...
I found this recipe thumbing through the "Ball Blue Book of Canning". Who knew such a recipe would exist. I guess written for those desperate for one more thing to turn tomatoes into?!
It took almost forever to cook down and turn into butter. Upside...it is quite delicious and you would never guess it was a tomato based butter! It has been getting rave reviews!
And still...the tomatoes thrive and grow...Supposed to hit 80F degrees...again...tomorrow...sigh...
I guess I better wrap this up and get out to the garden!!!
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