Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

 Okay, so maybe it wasn't killer tomatoes

and nothing was attacking, 

but there were a lot of freaking tomatoes we needed to harvest.

So I managed to get 4 one gallon freezer bags filled with peeled tomatoes.

I freeze them until I have the time 

to work on cooking and canning pasta sauce.

And Big E made a large batch of salsa.

I'm sure we'll be making more of this 

and freezing and canning it.

Read how to Peel Tomatoes easily.

Last Haul

We finally found time to pay attention to our struggling garden.

This year, it just doesn't seem to be doing very well at all.

Last year we had produce all over the place- 

so much I couldn't keep up with preserving it all.

Not this year.

I blame the late spring start,

the cooler than normal temps

and lack of fertilization.

So our next step is to fertilize the heck out of the garden.

While we were hacking down the jungle growth weeding

I came across this fat Eastern American Toad

hiding in the soil beneath what was supposed to be my cabbage plants.

(they were plants, they just never gave me cabbage)

He was pretty fat.

Big E yelled at me to stop playing with the toad and start 

wielding my machete helping him weed.

The squash bugs are one of the few things that are growing well.

The ground was moving with them. 

So we ripped out most of the squash and zucchini and pumpkins

and I sprayed the area with Neem oil hoping to kill them off.

 

This probably the last large haul from the garden this year.

Carrots and beets did well.

I'll be canning those this week.

The tomatoes are doing ok,

hopefully I'll continue to get some so I have enough for pasta sauce.

First Haul

Picked these snazzy zucchinis and a couple of Pony Express Paste tomatoes last night.

There's tons more nearly ready for harvesting.

If only we could get a little rain.

Finally Planted

I finally finished planting the garden

(except for the potatoes- they haven't arrived yet)

The girls enjoyed checking out the new plants-

and scratched up a few new baby tomatoes.

Peas are popping

The beans are popping too.

And so are the cucumbers. 

Can't wait to see them on the trellis.

 And in the meantime I'm trying to finish

all those wedding DIY projects

like the pennant banner.

74 feet long

and 66 feet long.

Now I'm hot gluing them. 

What was I thinking??

Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce

When I finally got enough nerve to use my canner,

I picked an adventurous recipe: Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce.

It is amazing.

The recipe makes about 3 quarts or 6 pints.

Ingredients:

6 bulbs of garlic

3 Tablespoons olive oil

4 medium red, yellow and/or green sweet peppers cut lengthwise and seeded

12 pounds ripe tomatoes Peeled

(to learn how to peel tomatoes, go here)

3 Tablespoons packed brown sugar

2 Tablespoons kosher salt 

(or 4 teaspoons regular salt)

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves snipped

1 cup lightly packed assorted fresh herbs

(such as oregano, thyme, parsley and/or basil)

6 Tablespoons lemon juice

• Preheat oven to 400 F
• Cut off the top (about 1/2 inch) of the garlic bulbs to expose ends of individual cloves
• Leaving garlic bulb whole, remove any loose papry out layers, place bulbs cut end up in a 1-1 1/2 quart casserole dish
• Drizzle bulbs with 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil cover dish
• arrange sweet pepper halves cut side down on foil lined baking sheet
• brush with remaining 2 Tablespoons of oil
• Roast garlic and peppers for about 40 minutes or until garlic feels soft and peppers are charred
• Cool garlic in dish on wire rack
• Bring foil up around peppers and fold edges together to enclose. Let peppers cool 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle Peel off and discard skins chop peppers and set aside.

•  Remove garlic cloves from paper skins by squeezing the bottoms of the bulbs and place in food  processor.
• Cut peeled tomatoes into chunks add some of the chunks to the garlic in the processor and process until chopped
• Transfer chopped garlic and tomatoes to 7-8 quart stainless steel, enamel or non-stick heavy pot.
• Working in batches repeat chopping the remaining tomatoes in the food processor.
• Add all the tomatoes to the pot

• Add brown sugar, salt, vinegar and black pepper to tomato mixture. Bring to boil
• Boil steadily uncovered for 50 minutes stirring frequently
• Stir in chopped peppers Boil for 10-20 minutes more or until it reaches desired consistancy stirring occasionally 
• Remove from heat and add basil and assorted herbs

• Spoon 1 Tablespoons lemon juice into each of 6 sterilized pint jars (or 2 Tablespoons in each 3 quart jars)
• Ladle sauce into jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace
• Wipe jar rims, adjust lids and screw bands.
• Process in boiling water canner for 35 minutes (time starts when water returns to boiling)
• remove jars and cool on wire racks.

The sauce looks gorgeous, smelled gorgeous while cooking 

and tastes amazing.

Note that I pressure canned my sauce at 11pounds of pressure for 15 minutes.

This is a time consuming recipe.

Because I really like the flavor of the sauce, 

I'm willing to take the time to make it

but I think I'll prepare the tomatoes one day

and assemble the sauce on another.

How To Peel a Tomato

Peeling a tomato seems like a tedious task,

but it's actually pretty simple.

First, cut an "X" on the bottom of the tomato.

Not a deep cut, just cutting into the skin.

Then, blanche the tomatoes for 30-60 seconds.

I did mine around 45 seconds on average.

Immediately remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and place them in ice water.

You'll go through a lot of ice if you have a lot of tomatoes,

so it might be a good idea to have a bag of ice on hand.

Once they're cooled (which doesn't take long)

the skins pretty much slide right off.  

It's really that easy!

I also discovered that to peel tomatoes and 

make sauce is an all day project.

You can peel the tomatoes one day

and refrigerate them till the following day 

to save on time.

The Pressure Canner

I purchased this Presto Pressure canner from Amazon some time ago

after I thoroughly read each review

(OK, maybe not each one since there were a lot, but a good many).

And once I had it at my house

it became apparent that I have a canning phobia.

It does not have its own name on the phobia list but it should.

Eventually the prospect of having wasted $70 for the canner,

not to mention the wasted tomatoes,

prompted me to go ahead and attempt to can and not blow up the house.

 The result?

I managed to can 3 quarts of Roasted Garlic and Pepper Spaghetti Sauce

(it's delish! I'll share the recipe in the future)

 I also realized that I didn't blow up the kitchen

and it doesn't appear that I will kill anyone with botulism either. 

I have since managed to can several quarts and pints of chopped tomato

and 7 jars of red pepper jelly.  

This canning thing is a cinch!

Salsa

I love fresh salsa in the summer months. 

With 15 tomato plants, 

I have more than enough tomatoes

to make salsa to eat and freeze.

I chopped the tomatoes

removing as many of the seeds as possible.

Then I chop onion.

I don't have any measurements, 

just add the amount that you think looks right based 

on your personal preference.

Same thing with the green peppers.

Then use some fresh cilantro to round it out.

You can freeze this in a freezer bag or

a container approved for freezing.

Nature's Pest Management

While I was out picking tomatoes,

I came across Nature's way of controlling hornworms.

The white things are eggs/larvae of a Braconid Wasp.

The wasp lays the eggs on the live caterpillar, 

and the young feed on it.

And it dies.

Because You Can't Have Just One

So I got another German Johnson heirloom tomato....

They better produce and taste as good as their name!

German Johnson

While out shopping for tomato plants for the garden, 

I came across an heirloom variety I hadn't heard of before- 

the German Johnson.  

Because my humor tends to run along the same lines as an adolescent youth, 

I immediately purchased one for the garden.  

Just because it was called a German Johnson.

My German Johnson growing in the garden

I did do a little research on it out of curiosity.

It was brought to Virginia and North Carolina by immigrants.

It is one of the parent plants to the Mortgage Lifter tomato.

The fruits are pink and low in acid and seeds

and it's perfect for slicing or canning.

The tomatoes get to be about 3/4- 1.5 pounds.

It's said to be the best tomato for BLT's.

So basically, an awesome tomato with an awesome name.

First German Johnson tomato

So far, I love this plant.

How many other plants make you laugh?

Case in point- this conversation heard at the nursery:

Guy #1: I used to have a German Johnson.

Guy #2: Me too, they're big.

Guy #1: Not many bigger than a German Johnson

Guy #2: Yep, I miss my Johnson, I think I'll have to get me another.