This is why we did not do our daily routine this morning -
My son and husband tell me often that I cannot save all the food but I choose not to believe their naysay ways. I can and will make use of all these gift that the dirt has given us even if it means eating pesto and tomato jam all darn winter.
I was not planning on this bounty. Honestly I thought I was done harvesting food for the year but the small city plot we had was dying off and many of the tomatoes were rotted in saddness from my lack of visitation to them and my friend had an overflow of her yard garden to share.
So friday schooly activites are bumped to Sunady family time, which may upset the troops since that is MarioKart time if Big Daddy is around, but I cannot let a drop of this goodness go to waste.
My husband tells me that folks may be a bit disappointed to get tomato jam for the holiday but I poopoo the thought. What is better than a gift of food that was made with loving hands and an obsessive heart?
Here is a wee glimpse into what I did with my summer -
Book Suggestion:
The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest by Carol W. Costenbader
“Remember how grandmother’s cellar shelves were packed with jars of tomato sauce and stewed tomatoes, pickled beets and cauliflower, and pickles both sweet and dill? Learn how to save a summer day – in batches – from the classic primer, now updated and rejacketed. Use the latest inexpensive, time-saving techniques for drying, freezing, canning, and pickling. Anyone can capture the delicate flavors of fresh foods for year-round enjoyment and create a well-stocked pantry of fruits, vegetables, herbs, meats, flavored vinegars, and seasonings.”
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2 comments:
One thing we've been doing with tomatoes recently is oven-drying them. The Joy of Cooking has the recipe that got us going (I think under "slow roasted tomatoes" or some such) but at this point I can basically recite it by heart: oven to 250, tomatoes halved on parchment-lined cookie sheets face up, sprinkle (or spray, easier) with olive oil, salt, pepper, powdered sugar (really) and chopped basil. Roast for 2 hours or so. I keep thinking I should try omitting the sugar to see if it really makes a difference. So far we've eaten all we've produced but the product LOOKS as though it would keep well, maybe packed down into a jar and covered with olive oil? But they're too good tossed with anchovies, capers, toasted pine nuts and parm over pasta for them to hang around long in our house (I think we have fewer tomatoes than you though). We've mostly used grape tomatoes but I think it would be good with big tomatoes too, but then slice instead of just halving the tomatoes.
But the tomato jam sounds great!
Beautiful! It's so nice to read your thoughts again- I'd gotten out of the habit of checking because you stopped updating for a while. But I will check more now! Anyway, it was so nice to see you yesterday, it made me realize that I need much more Kate in my life. Brunches and preserving parties and apple picking, yes? You need to teach me how to make tomato jam, too. :)
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