Red Tomatoes=joy

The tomatoes have FINALLY turned red and we are off to the races, tomato races that is. First is to get some tomatoes pressure canned for winter use.

We start with a quick 30 second blanch, then a cold water dip to loosen the peel. Slip off the skins (keep for drying and making tomato powder), quarter, removing the core and seeds to  a separate bowl.

Skinned and ready to quarter.

“quartered” or otherwise sliced and diced.

Skins ready for drying.

The seeds and other innards are then put through a sieve to capture the tomato juice. We are from a waste not, want not generation so try not to waste anything. It came out to 8 cups of the most precious juice. Glad we didn’t just toss it!

The tomato is shoved unceremoniously into sterilized jars, 2 TBSP lemon juice per pint in tossed in, boiling water poured in to 1/4 inch of lid,capped and pressure cooked for 15 minutes. The next canning will be shoved more aggressively in the jars as the liquid separation  is more than I would prefer.

We kept the seeds from our favorites. The largest and then the ones that seemed to represent the variety best.  I was concerned that the organic hot house tomatoes may have cross pollinated with the organic Amish Ox-heart tomatoes seeds we purchased. There was a variety of shapes per plant so not sure which one is true to breed. We will continue with what grew the best and since their taste is pleasing their shape concerns me less.

From an approximate 8 lbs of tomatoes we made 9 pints of pressure canned tomatoes, 8 cups of tomato juice and have enough tomato left for about 8 x 1/2 pints of salsa (tomorrow).

Extremely pleased to have tomatoes this year. We trimmed the plants fervently to avoid trapping moisture and creating a habitat for blight. We had tarps at the ready whenever the weather turned harsh(wind, frost,tropical storm) and our efforts have been rewarded.

On a humorous note, here is a picture of my most unusual tomato…we call him Pinocchio…you must not tell a lie.

Find the lightness in your daily routine…it’s there waiting to be seen, see it…and smile.

Favorite pressure canning site: http://pickyourown.org/pressure_canning_tomatoes.htm