Tomato tomaaato...

The tomatoes (tomaaatoes if you're a Brit) have been insane around here. They just keep coming and coming. With a recipe from "Good Housekeeping" magazine in my hot, little hand, I set out to make oven dried tomatoes. Now the recipe called for Romas, but being the good adventurer that I am (and only having Yellow Pear and Beefsteaks), I experimented.

Here's how it goes:

-Pre-heat the oven to 300.

-Chop the tomatoes into pieces (the Yellow Pears in half).

-Toss them in a bowl with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

-Lay parchment paper on cookie sheets and spread the tomatoes out in a layer.

-Chop garlic and basil and sprinkle over the top of them. A little more oil too!

-Bake in the oven for 4-5 hours. Rotate the cookie sheet halfway through.

-Take them out when they are shriveled and look like sun-dried tomatoes.

-Put into jars and submerge in olive oil.

-Keep in the fridge for up to 1 month (if you can resist from eating them that is!).

That night for dinner we made pasta with chicken/fennel/artichoke sausage and these glorious tomatoes! They were so much better than store-bought could ever be. As soon as I have more tomatoes ready in that garden, I'll for sure be drying some more!

Nice Peaches!

In my attempt to want to learn how to can things, I decided to go to a Farmer's Market to pick something fresh and in season to can. Being that it is summer, the obvious choice was peaches- also one of my favorite fruits. To make it even MORE worthwhile, I bought organic peaches (and also used organic sugar in the syrup!).

True to myself, I bought all the things for canning and the peaches and almost didn't follow through with it. I'm glad that I did though because now I have 6 gorgeous jars of peaches cooling on my kitchen counter, golden yellow and orange with the sunlight glistening through the jars...

Okay sounds great, but it didn't start out so beautiful. Let me tell you about peeling a peach. I would liken it to skinning a cat. Or pulling peeling skin off a sunburned person. Now maybe I didn't "blanch" them well enough (dipping them in boiling water to loosen the skins) or maybe they weren't ripe enough either (some were and others weren't). My peach peeling skills were definitely lacking and it took a while. Sometimes I would get a perfect one that would peel off as it should. Others though, were like pulling teeth. I even resorted to using a knife to peel one *gasp*.

Surprisingly though, the peeling was really my only issue. As overwhelming as canning looks, it really is a simple sequence of instructions and, being the good-girl-rule-follower that I am, it was quite easy (and fun!). I listened to country music to really make me feel like I actually needed to be doing this, like storing up for the long winter in my little house on the prairie. I even wore a dish towel around my waist for wiping my hands and jars. All that was missing were dirty little children running around and hiding in my long, flowy skirt (yes, I even wore that!).

After I took them out from processing (boiling the jars with fruit in them for a certain amount of time), I went to feed the peach peels to my worms and heard the, "Pop! Pop!" of the jars sealing. Music to my Laura Ingalls Wilder ears. It worked! They are sealed properly! And now I am proud as I look at my beautiful jars cooling on the counter. Ready to be eaten in the long winter months ahead. ;)

*On a side note: It is way easier to buy canned fruit at the store. Maybe slightly cheaper too. However, buying local and in season is the goal right? Those cans at the store travel from who- knows-where using precious fuel. Growing fruits and veggies yourself and/or buying at a local farmer's market reduces your carbon footprint AND supports local farmers! Also, the jars are much, much prettier...

Squash- to can or to freeze?

I am soon going to be blessed with an (over) abundance of squash. I'm planning to make butternut squash ravioli and soup, however, I wasn't sure if the soup should be canned or frozen. After doing some internet research, I found that most discussions recommend freezing due to the fact that squash is quite dense. This means that the entire jar may not boil while canning and can then grow botulism- not good! And so I will make my soup and pack my freezer with it for the LONG, cold San Diego winter months ahead- heh heh ;)... At least I will have it ready to go for my annual Halloween party anyway, even if it may be 80 degrees out like last year. Oh well...

While doing my research, I found a great website for you healthy moms working so hard to raise healthy kids. It's called www.mothering.com and has great info- from pregnancy to diapers to canning your own food. Remember, every little step you make towards being more green makes a world of difference!

New harvest

I've been starting to harvest a few veggies. First, were a couple of cukes that were sweet and delicious. Next, a few yellow pear tomatoes which made a yummy salad with some mozzarella and balsalmic dressing. Last, were 2 butternuts- one of which I baked and mashed! Yum! The other I am saving for raviolis... Soon will have many large, red tomatoes- of which some are destined to be oven-dried and others canned! Watermelons arriving soon also!

My new garden

I haven't posted for a while! Been busy getting settled in the new house and working in the garden. I built a raised bed in late Spring and planted Early Girl tomatoes, yellow pear tomatoes, green bell pepper, basil, butternut squash, and watermelons. Needless to say, all those things in a 5x5 raised bed have pretty much taken over the bed and all surrounding areas. I'm wondering if I will have any sidewalk by the end of summer with the way the squash and melons have taken over. And, as life mimics nature, my life has exploded as well with many new friends and adventures. My garden and my cup runneth over-I feel truly blessed. Here are some before and after pics of how this years urban farm has grown...