Tuesday, August 16, 2011

the weekend & a recipe

minus photos as I have no camera battery right now :(  super sad!!

Saturday: Sammy had a checkup @ the vet, then I picked up 30+# of tomatoes @ the local farmer's market, then we spent the day @ the Iowa State Fair!! I love the state fair.  The people watching, the food, the exhibits, the food, the people watching, the exhibits. We even ended up spending much of the night there too, totally unplanned LOL those darn co-workers of Tim's that keep a cup in his hand ;)

Sunday: Tim slept in... hmmmm wonder why ;) but I was up & running ready to do those tomatoes!  I remembered (all too well) the misery I was in after spending 4 hours on my feet cleaning tomatoes last year so I set myself up on the living room floor w/a bowl of scalded+iced tomatoes, a bowl w/a sack in it for the compost & an empty one for the clean pieces, a towel & washcloth.  I watched Knight & Day on blu-ray then Mister Eleven on Netflix stream while I cleaned my tomatoes.  Then they simmered all afternoon w/veggies & seasonings to make seasoned sauce YUMMMM 3 quarts & 2 pints later, TADA! I was even pretty good @ keeping up w/my mess this time  ;)  planning another round each of the next 2 Sundays.

here is the recipe I use:

Seasoned Tomato Sauce
(from the ball blue book of canning)
yield: about 14 pints or 7 quarts

45 # tomatoes
6 cups chopped onions
12 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 TBS oregano
6 bay leaves
1 TBS black pepper
1 1/2 TBS sugar
1/4 c salt (optional)
2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
bottled lemon juice

Wash tomatoes, drain, remove core, & blossom ends. Cut into quarters; set aside. Saute onions & garlic in olive oil in a large saucepot. Add tomatoes, oregano, bay leaves, black pepper & sugar. Stir in salt and crushed red pepper, if desired. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaves. Puree tomatoes using a food processor or food mill. Strain puree to remove peels & seeds. Cook pulp in a large, uncovered sauce pot over medium-high heat until sauce thickes, stirring to prevent sticking. Reduce volume by one-half. Add 1TBS lemon juice to each hot pint jar, 2TBS to each quart jar. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 35 minutes, quarts 40 in boiling-water canner.

linking up with the girls over at:

3 comments:

Michelle said...

I'm gathering tomatoes from my garden to can in the next few days. I have the Ball Bible... Might give this recipe a shot! Thanks for the idea!!

Penny said...

Oooh, that sounds so yummy! I must try that!

Stacey said...

I look at the Ball Blue Book every single time I'm in Robinson's. They are down to two copies, so I'm going to have to break down and buy one Saturday I think. Today I was there not long after we got to market (late) to break a twenty and get some cinnamon. I wasn't sure how much money we could spare, so I left it on the shelf once again...