If you have never experienced a Woot-off, you haven't lived. Normally, WOOT! offers one item a day for sale, but during a woot-off, they clear out their warehouse and sell everything really cheap. As soon as an item is sold, they offer the next one. Sometimes it's just a matter of a few minutes between items, others take a bit longer. Usually a Woot-off only lasts for the day, but this one has been going on for two days and nights. Of course, the main thing is waiting for them to offer the famous BOC. I think this was the first one offered since Amazon.com bought them out, and it was sure a stroke of luck to get it....maybe. It might really be a bag of crap!
If you're curious about what some have received in their BOC, just go on YouTube and search for "WOOT bag of crap". I'd like to be like the lady that got 24 MP3 players (from 2GB to 16GB capacity) and three digital camera bags. Oh, well, whatever I get it was worth the $3 that it cost me (I had a code for free shipping), just for the two days of entertainment and the excitement of "the kill".
Now, back to the matters at hand, cooking and gardening.
Wednesday I caught up with most of the tomatoes, by making and canning five quarts of tomato juice. Of course, I then went to the garden and picked more.
I began a big pot of barbecue sauce (Ball Blue Book recipe) before dinner yesterday, and pulled six pints from the boiling water bath at ten-thirty last night. Talk about time consuming!This morning I took a basket over to Pat's yard and picked a bunch of golden delicious apples that were just going to waste. She doesn't spray them, but they're nice apples with a bit of trimming, and very good for applesauce or, in this case, apple butter. I'm doing mine in the crockpot, so I'll probably be up late canning again tonight. Notice the two wooden spoons holding the lid off the crockpot. That's a good way to keep the spatters from going all over the kitchen, while allowing the contents to cook down and thicken.
I still have two large containers of tomatoes, not to mention a windowsill full, left from yesterdays picking. 
Then I picked more today, from behind the garden shed, but I'm just going to ignore the rest of them until tomorrow morning. I'm trying to convince myself to start a batch of ketchup this afternoon, since I'll be up half the night with the apple butter, anyway.
Granny, you are the bomb. I'm constantly online, my husband is a techie, and I still didn't know about woot. And you kick my a$$ with 70 lbs of tomatoes. Oh, and then you clean your entire house top to bottom in a day. You are amazing.
ReplyDeleteHow many tomato plants do you have, anyway?
Lord I could never stay up late canning. If I don't do it by the afternoon it won't happen. I'll put the stuff in the crock pot on low or stick it in the fridge. I just can't can at night.
ReplyDeleteAnd somehow that BOC just doesn't interest me. I spent all spring getting rid of my own crap before moving. The books, the lamps, the furniture, the beanie babies. The list goes on and on. Now if the BOC had a couple of cases or so of pint canning jars, I'd be in. I'm starting to run out and I haven't even hit the apple canning season.
I thought we lived in the same state! No luck with tomatoes here! We need a warm September for ours to ripen. Your harvest is great!
ReplyDeleteA fellow Wooter
ReplyDeleteNever got a BOC but I am have been refreshing the screen as well. It's hard not to want it all but I usually restrain myself and get nothing.
Good lord that's a lot of tomatoes you grow. Man, what I could do with more sun and no BER. You've got the thumb of all thumbs.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, Granny? A Bag of Crap? I'll send you one free and not even set fire to it. If I'm to believe what I'm shown, the girl here believes hers smells like roses. I volunteer you to help find out.
Just kidding...actually, I'm crazy excited for you. I can't wait to see if you made out like a bandit or get 2 packs of Chicklets.
Wow! Thanks so much for the wooden spoons trick! Never heard of that before, I bet it will work great. I've just left the lid a bit askew in the past, but it's not usually enough.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for putting me onto Woot too! What a cool place!
First off, yay for tomatoes and apples, but I think that goes without saying. Secondly, I obviously have never lived because I have never experienced a woot-off. In fact, I've never heard of woot! Now that I have, I can't wait to experience a woot-off of my own! I want a Bag of Crap! - I've never said that before!
ReplyDeleteAli, you would ask that! Let me see, I started with 40, but 7 of those went to Pat's, so that left me with 33. Then I tossed a Minigold, a Sibirskij Stambovyj and two Gartenperles, gave my daughter a Sibirskij Stambovyj. That gets me down to 28. This week I pulled two plants that were not what they were supposed to be, which were Sungold and Green Grape. Another Minigold will be pulled this week (I've not been picking them, and doing away with most of the cherry tomatoes, especially yellow ones). That drops it down to 25, but fewer than half of those are giving me all the tomatoes right now (only 8, to be exact). I have too many cherry and dwarf tomatoes that are getting thrown in the pot for juice, and larger ones that still have only green tomatoes on them.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, it's the gamble that's fun...and it only cost $3. If it's truly crap, my grandkids will love it :-)
ReplyDeleteTatyana, I'm in that hot desert of Eastern Washington!
ReplyDeleteJohanna, I'm kind of glad the screaming monkey says the woot-off is over. That was a real marathon! I bit my fingers and didn't buy anything but the BOC, even though there were several things I wanted (but didn't need). I should have bought the 2-pack of head phones for $12.99, but by the time I read how good they were, they were gone. I'd have liked that iPod, too :-)
ReplyDeleteRibbit, your BOC would be real (stinky) crap! Just because the girl thinks it doesn't stink, doesn't make it roses, ya know. Heck, my BOC might be something really nice. Or not.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Alison. Sometimes the simplest things are things we don't think of doing! My apple butter cooked down really thick, and not a splatter on the counter!
ReplyDeleteToo bad you missed the woot-out! Just check every morning for something new. I've heard it's not as good now that Amazon owns it, though.
Kimmi, may we all get many Bags of Crap in our lifetime! LOL, that really doesn't sound so odd to a gardener ;-)
ReplyDeleteGranny, my hubby has bought a few things on Woot. My current vacuum is from there! I think he's gotten a few t-shirts, and a bunch of computer stuff. Maybe a monitor, I can't remember. Nice job on the tomatoes. I would like to have a little more oomph later in the evening! I have some apples on the outside stove that I started early this morning, then had to stop. Hope they are ok tomorrow morning, as I didn't want to finish them this evening when I got back from being in town all day. Now I'm going back tomorrow, since I forgot to buy a hand crank-type apple corer, peeler, slicer, dicer, micer, ricer, when I was AT THE STORE THAT SELLS THEM!! And our tree is loaded with apples! Agh! Oh, well, we're turning it into a date. Just the two of us, at the Tractor store, then out to lunch. Ahh, true love!!
ReplyDelete~~Lori
I've never done Woot before but know people who have. Bag of Crap sounds interesting. Love your loads of tomatoes. Wow!
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of Woot, I'll have to check it out. The tomatoes keep on coming, but there is no way I'll stay up late canning them.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard about Woot. I hope you get a great BOC :) You sure are busy with all those tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteNever hear of Woot-off! Will check it out. Wowsie... you are raining tomatoes in your garden!!!
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of WOOT! But now I'll have to check it out! I am processing what I think is the last tomato harvest today, I wish I had more sauce put up, but it was not to be this year. It is plenty for the kids & I but there will be a few months in the spring when hubby gets home that he will be sauce-less!
ReplyDeleteThe Woot Off sounds like it would be fun and addictive! The tomatoes are just stunningly beautiful and productive. Wish I were closer as I would pitch in and help in trade for some ripe tomatoes - as our temps dipped down to 46 degrees last night (yup we chilled down again) and tomatoes need temps at 55 or higher at night to ripen. (sigh).
ReplyDeleteWoot! Another Wooter! :) I'm glad taht you got your BOC. I gave up trying for them after a three day marathon wasted in front of my computer refreshing like made, only to get hung up when their server crashed and I missed it. Boo! Hope yours turns out good, the last few my friends have gotten weren't that great. Love your blog btw. :)
ReplyDeleteLori, the only thing I ever bought from Woot! was a two pack of ear buds, 'cause I left the ones to my MP3 player down in AZ. I do check to see what they have every day, though. Lots of stuff comes up that I'd like to have, but nothing I really need, so I control my urge to buy!
ReplyDeleteMr. Granny and I go on dates to Lowe's, then buy lunch at Subway and sit in the car in the parking lot to eat. Romantic, huh?
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Meemsnyc, The Mom, GrafixMuse and RandomGardener, I certainly am getting more than enough tomatoes! Unfortunately, I am down to just enough pint jars to can a batch of ketchup, and maybe enough quart jars for 2-3 batches of juice, and then I'll be giving away tomatoes.
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Erin, checking my blog entries from last year, it looks like September was my big tomato producing year. Too bad I can't hit the canning jar jackpot.
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Kitsap, one of the comments on the Woot! site said they'd wondered how people on the TV show Hoarders got to that point...they must be Wooters ;-) It's addictive, but I'm more the "Gee, I wish I'd bought that" type, rather than one who actually does buy it.
Our night temps are usually in the low 50s through September, and I've never had problems with the tomatoes ripening. September is normally my big tomato producing month...like I need more tomatoes! I see our temps are going to drop into the high 70s for one day (tomorrow), then shoot back up close to 100. By next Friday, we should begin experiencing wonderful days at 79-80.
Granny - could you share your apple butter recipe? My grandmother made the best apple butter and I remember making and canning it with her during our late summer vacations in West Virginia. I haver her recipe books but she doesn't have that in it. She was one to just put in a bit of this, so much of that, and didn't write a lot down. She died when I was in my mid-20's and I regret I didn't take more notes...
ReplyDeleteAnd also, Kelly's Put Away for Another Day Zucchini Bread you recommended is awesome. I made to bring to a dinner with friends last night, and all raved it was the best zucchini bread they had ever had and all want the recipe. So thanks (and thanks Kelly!)
Lythrum, yay, a fellow Woot!-er in crime ;-) That was a tiring Woot-off. Has there ever been a three day one before? I can always hope, since this is Amazon's first BOC, that it will be a good one. I want that iPod, that they were selling for half price, in my BOC. Like that's ever going to happen. A netbook would be nice, too. Heck, I wouldn't even mind the Shamwows, LOL! I'll probably get a lifetime supply of screaming monkeys.
ReplyDeleteLinda, First I quartered and cored the apples, then cooked them with a little water until they were very soft. I ran them through the colander to remove the peelings. If I'd had nice big apples, instead of small wormy ones, I'd have peeled them before cooking them. I had to cut out quite a bit of these, so didn't bother with peeling them.
ReplyDeleteFill crockpot (I think mine is a 5-quart) with applesauce to 1" from top. Add 1 Tbsp. Cinnamon, 1 tsp. cloves and 1 tsp. allspice. Stir in 4 cups sugar. Prop lid partially open by laying 2 wooden spoons over the crock. Cook on low until thick and dark, 8-10 hours.
I processed the pints 20 minutes, which is what was given for applesauce. The recipes for apple butter mostly said 10-15 minutes, but I opted for 20.
I have a better recipe that cooks it in the oven, but it calls for apple cider. I haven't made that one in years, but if you want it I can copy it off for you.
I was wondering what had been keeping ya! Knew you had to be ragged! The spoons are an awesome idea! Thanks for sharing that! And I have also wondered about the bbq recipe, but if you say it's good...then it must be!
ReplyDeleteApple Pie Gal, I have to admit, I thought the barbecue sauce tasted like ketchup, so I doctored it up a bit. I dumped in half of a large bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue Sauce, and that's what it needed! It still tastes a bit like ketchup, but I think it will be fine. Next time I'll dump in the entire bottle ;-)
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you ever get some more MP3 players -- it's part of our sinister plan for the fall. I've never done a WOOT off, but it sounds fun.
ReplyDeleteSigh. I know they're a lot of work, but I miss tomatoes.
I don't know, Stefaneener. I've been watching BOC videos on YouTube, while I wait for my tomato sauce to process, and they really have been crap! Maybe this time everyone will get good stuff, 'cause all the crap is already gone? Like that's gonna happen ;-)
ReplyDeleteNow that's my problem. I don't have grandkids yet.
ReplyDeleteI bet that sauce is delish! I made the Asian plum sauce (also Ball) - it took all day long but is the most amazing sauce I think I've ever tasted.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, if you lived closer, I'd loan you a couple of mine. I have eight of them...I could share ;-)
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Wendy, that does sound good! I think I saw a recipe for baby back ribs with plum sauce that sounded delicious (Emeril Lagasse).