Faced with this.......
And this.......
I did this........
I made 6 pints of tomato sauce (peeled, cored, seeded, chopped and simmered for two hours), and two jars of dill pickles. And I am finally caught up with the tomatoes and cucumbers. For now. 
Nice! Glad you are caught up for now. Any word from the jar company yet?
ReplyDeleteKelly, no I haven't. I guess they have a monopoly on jars and lids, so customer service isn't that important to them :-(
ReplyDeleteGranny, I'm coring and freezing all of my tomatoes, which will be turned into sauce in another month or so. You sure have canned alot this year, and whipped my butt in that department, too!
ReplyDeleteEG, you've been needing a good butt whippin' for a long time now ;-)
ReplyDeleteMy freezer is full, and I have at least 6 big pumpkins and 15-20 big butternut squashes that will have to be frozen. What to do, what to do? Better get to emptying the big freezer, I guess. No more stocking up at Costco!
Granny, Denise got me to buy a new whiteboard so I can keep track of what's what in the basement -- good thing, too. I wrote down all of my canned stuff and this week I'll go through the freezer and write that down. Then the refrigerator will be short-term storage only. Just in time for school and the ice packs associated with taking lunch!
ReplyDeleteStefaneener, how nice! I wish I could be that organized. I have good intentions, but I seem to be easily distracted. About the best I can do is keep my canned goods on the shelves in order, so everything is easy to find. My freezers are just a lost cause. I buy baskets for meat, veggies and baked goods, but for some reason, it all ends up in a jumble. Same with my fridge. I'm not going to tell you the pull date on the cottage cheese I threw out this morning :-(
ReplyDeleteThe sauce is particularly nice looking. Something about canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, and salsa that just catches my eye. Must be the "red" thing! LOL! Your canning efforts are superior and the finished products are a delight to look at.
ReplyDeleteKitsapFG, I think that's my best batch of sauce. I didn't run it through the colander, I pureed it in the food processor so it did have just a few seeds (I squeezed most of them out before cooking), but was thick and lovely when I put it in the kettle. Then I didn't get in a hurry to get it in the jars, but let it simmer for two hours. So it's thicker and richer than previous batches.
ReplyDeleteI tasted the salsa today, and it was perfect. I was afraid I didn't leave enough seeds for proper heat, but I did. My neighbor used a jar of the peach salsa on her pork roast and said it was delicious!
Caught up until you foolishly go back outside. Stay in!!! There's more out there waiting!!
ReplyDelete:D
Hi Granny. I just can't stand to see you standing over a pot cooking all those tomatoes for sauce....Here's what ya do...wash toms..thin slice off top to remove stem. Cut in half acoss equator. Lay on large baking sheet with sides. (I use 11x15)Brush a bit of veg or olive oil on each half. Sprinkle each with sugar. Quarter an onion or two and place on sheet. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. After 30 min. throw in 4 or 5 whole cloves of garlic. Bake for another 30 minutes. Put in food processor to puree. Add tsp basil, oregano, salt/pepper to taste. DONE! I put in gallon ziplock bags, lay flat to freeze. Don't have to thaw to use, just heat. 1 hour hands-free tomatoe sauce. Try it!!!
ReplyDeleteFanfortony
Granny that is so nice isn 't it? You know I have never been motivated to try canning, but my mom does a lot of canning. Maybe someday I will try it...when I have more time and energy, it seems like a lot of work! Probably one of those things that looks harder than it really is.
ReplyDeleteSue, since it's supposed to be 103 degrees out there today, I imagine I'll stay inside and enjoy the AC!
ReplyDelete********
Fanfortony, that sounds delicious, BUT....I have at least a half dozen (or more) pumpkins, at least a dozen (or more) butternut squash and a new crop of green beans that HAVE to go into the freezer, and that freezer is full right now. I'm going to have to stop hoarding groceries for the remainder of the summer ;-) Besides that, my freezer is always in a big jumble and I'm forever having to pull things out to find something. My jars line up neatly on my shelves. Can't take the frozen foods south with me for the winter, but I can tuck a few boxes of canned foods into the trunk.
Canning the sauce isn't all that difficult. I squeeze out most of the seeds, then puree everything in the food processor, toss it into a heavy kettle and simmer for an hour or two. I only have to check it and stir it every 15 minutes or so. No watching at all when it's spending its 30 minutes in the canner. And I just love looking at all those filled jars ;-)
********
Shawn Ann, It's not hard work at all, but it is time consuming and I always make a big mess. If I had the room, and if I stayed home all winter to use it, I'd freeze a lot of stuff instead of canning. Especially jam....I love freezer jam.
Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWhoohoo! Look at you go! :)
ReplyDeleteGo Granny, Go Granny, Go Granny Go!! hehehe
LOL, Crystabel! I'm afraid I'm not caught up now. Just wait until you see what I picked today :-)
ReplyDeleteI am so disappointed with this whole summer and the crazy weather, but looking at all the stuff you're pulling out of your garden makes me feel better and look forward to having better luck next year.
ReplyDeleteCheryl, just the opposite problem here. I am absolutely worn out from tending to all this produce I'm getting from the garden. Next year, I will plant half what I planted this year! It has been mind boggling to see the amount of food that has come from such a small space this year. I'm not even going to replant some of the empty spots for fall, now I'm just giving most everything away as it is.
ReplyDeleteYeah!!! Always nice to GET IT DONE!!!
ReplyDeleteI've got to get chokecherry jelly made up and canned... got the juicing done...