August 19, 2024

Stewed Tomatoes...

It actually wasn't in my plans to do any canning yesterday, but "flexible" is a good thing, right? I'd sent off a message to the couple who have a fabulous fruit and vegetable growing business close to us to see if there were tomatoes available. I awoke to a message yesterday morning informing me that she'd have a twenty pound box of beef steak tomatoes waiting for me at the "pick up and pay" shed by noon.

When I arrived, I saw the box of gorgeous tomatoes with my name on the sheet. I turned around to see what could easily be award-winning green peppers for $1.00 each. I knew that I would be turning this twenty pound box of shiny red goodness into stewed tomatoes, so I grabbed five peppers and put my money in the drop box. Then, Handsome and I drove up to their barns - having seen them in the yard - so we could say "hi" and thank them for being so accommodating. I also said I'd be back for more soon.

We drove home and I got all of my canning supplies set up in the kitchen. While the water was heating up in my pressure canner, as well as the blanching pot, I set about cutting onions, green peppers, and celelery, and putting them into my Kilne™ pot where I would soon be adding the cut up tomatoes. Adding salt and dried parsley to the mix, and then letting it simmer, until the vegetables were all softened, it was ready to jar. 

Everything went into clean jars, and after the rims were cleaned, lids affixed and rings screwed on (finger tight), seven quarts of goodness went into the pressure canner for twenty five minutes. An hour later (after the pressure was completed released), the lid was removed and the jars were allowed to settle before I put them on the board to cool. All the lids sealed, jars were labeled, and by dinnertime, all put away in the pantry.

This batch (I used fifteen pounds of tomatoes) also yielded a quart jar of leftover juice that I put into the refrigerator for us to drink. It's our homemade version of V8. I also reserved all the skins from blanching the tomatoes to put into our dehydrator. I've learned that I can dehydrate, then process into powder to use as tomato paste later by simply adding water and a little vinegar. There was actually only a very small bowl of waste - cores from the tomatoes and the cutoffs from the other vegetables. 

The contents of these jars will be used as a base for chili, spaghetti, soup, or casseroles into the fall and winter, so I'll definitely get more tomatoes to make more. After all, two of us would easily go through seven quarts rather quickly.

We took a break for fresh cheese and tomato sandwiches with Duke's mayonnaise on homebread for lunch. I can tell you they tasted incredible. They 'maters were rich and sweet tasting, and each one in the box weighed nearly a pound!

On another note, the ladies and I had a great time for our Saturday Craft Day, but I'll tell you all about that tomorrow. Veggies took top billing for today. I hope you all had as nice a weekend as I did! I'll see you tomorrow.

10 comments:

  1. Oh, those look so good, great fro a lot of dishes & casseroles.
    Marilyn

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    1. Hi Marilyn:
      I'm especially looking forward to what they always called our school lunch casserole (John Marzetti). Who knows where the name originated? I surely don't, but I love recreating it from time to time. The contents of this jar added to browned ground beef and elbow macaroni. I add cheese to top it off when I want to be extra fancy. lol
      xoxo
      Donna

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  2. It certainly pays to be flexible this time of year when there's all that goodness just waiting to be canned. I'm on the lookout for a basket of roma tomatoes to make some jam. We like tomato jam better than fruit jams. Your rows of jars look so pretty!

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    1. Hi MA:
      I think tomato jam was one of the first things I canned as a newlywed. I loved it! I do a smoky paprika tomato jam now that's great on burgers, or as a BBQ sauce. It's really tasty, too. I can see why one might prefer the jam, for sure.
      xoxo
      Donna

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  3. Wow, those are indeed some impressive looking tomatoes... as are their canned counterparts. 😊

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    1. Hi Lois:
      They're actually huge and hearty. I'm thinking I'll use these for tomato basil soup! They'd be perfect for it. Thanks, dear.
      xoxo
      Donna

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  4. Sherry of createology: You and Handsome are Master Food Canners! Your tomatoes are beautiful.

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    1. Hi Sherry:
      I've decided that (as long as they're affordable) it's simply better to purchase these from a master gardener. I can't compete with her growing skills. Thanks, dear.
      xoxo
      Donna

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  5. Wow, what a day. That looks so good.
    Oh and a tomato sandwich, the day just keeps getting better.
    That was quite a weekend.
    Shirley

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    1. Hi Shirley:
      I couldn't agree more. Cheese and fresh tomato sandwiches are my go-to summer fave. I may have even made yummy noises when I ate this first one of the season. Store bought can't hold a candle to these!
      xoxo
      Donna

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Blessings, Donna