Day 248

At the beginning of the summer, it was zucchini, zucchini, and.....zucchini from my garden.

The middle of summer brought green beans- more than I knew what to do with. I did pole beans for the first time, and learned a lesson about not planting them in the middle of the garden. I struggled reaching many of the green drops of gold as I had planted tomatoes and peas on either side- both of which also grow tall...it was like playing Twister in the backyard- luckily my neighbors can't see that part of the yard...

But the end of summer brings tomatoes. The weather made me worry this year- it's just recently gotten hot enough to turn the orbs ruby red. And lots of rain has had me fighting fungus much more than I remember doing last year.

But The Tomato Goddess prevailed. 

Dozens of scarlet dots wink at me every day when I pull in the driveway, beckoning me out to the backyard with my scissors and harvesting basket. I love how they almost fall off the branch when you grab them, like they were just waiting for you to come and release them from their web of green vines.

But what to do with 100 tomatoes? Can them of course. The thought of making beef stew with barley and tomatoes, or homeade spaghetti sauce during the winter with my own tomatoes just makes happy for some reason.

About half way through the process I remembered why most people just buy their canned tomatoes. First you have to wash them, and sterilize the jars and lids. Then you must slide them into boiling water for just a minute to soften the skins. An ice bath is next to halt the cooking process. Of course, this has to all be done in batches...

Each individual tomato (did I mention I had at least 100??) needs it's skin peeled off, then sliced and all of the seeds removed. The more seeds and extra water you get out of the tomato, the meatier and more flavorful your sauce will eventually be. Clip some fresh basil from the garden and place in the bottom of the jar, then fill with the dissected parts.

Now for the actual canning part. 

I bought an antique water bath canner a few months ago, so I was super- excited to use it. 45 minutes in boiling water, and my tomatoes were done. Finally. But they were beautiful.

Today's pic celebrates making food from food, and gaining respect for the amount of work that goes into something you complain about costing $1.50 at the grocery store!