With the cold weather coming it is time to harvest the garden produce. My husband and I frantically gathered in all the tomatoes in our garden because the weather man said it was going to snow (there were a few flakes but not enough to really worry about) We really could have waited but it is done and I don't have to think about it any more. We picked all the green tomatoes as well as the ripe ones. So with bushels of tomatoes it is now time to organize them.
There are three ways I like to organize my tomatoes.
There are three ways I like to organize my tomatoes.
- Blanch them, take the skins off them and put them in Ziploc bags to freeze.
- Blanch them, take the skins off them and bottle them. (stewed tomatoes? One time I had to sit at the table for at least 2 hours until my stewed tomatoes were all eaten. You never would have thought I would make them myself.)
- Make Salsa with them!
The Salsa recipe that I use was given to me by a neighbor about 10 years ago.
As you can see the recipe really needs to be organized as well. Whenever I get a recipe from someone over the phone I always write it on the first thing that I can grab with the promise that I will rewrite it and make it look neat. It may have taken 10 years to live up to that promise but who is counting?
As you can see the recipe really needs to be organized as well. Whenever I get a recipe from someone over the phone I always write it on the first thing that I can grab with the promise that I will rewrite it and make it look neat. It may have taken 10 years to live up to that promise but who is counting?
One thing I love about this recipe is that I don't have to follow it exactly. I use what ever peppers I have. Now if you did decide to follow the recipe exactly you will get an excellent salsa. I still just use what I have and I think it turns out pretty darn good.
The first thing to do is take out the core of the tomato and any bad parts. I get water boiling in a pan while I do this.
The first thing to do is take out the core of the tomato and any bad parts. I get water boiling in a pan while I do this.
Put the tomatoes in a pan of boiling water for about 3 min
Remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and run them under cold water.
The skins should just slip off.
Next you dice the tomatoes, peppers and onions and throw them into a pot. ( I got so into the dicing and throwing my veg. into the pot that I forgot to take pictures of them.)(I know you really wish you could see my nice little neat stacks of veg. lol I will try to repent and do better next time.)
After you add the oil, vinegar, and spices you bring the mixture to a boil and let it simmer for 30 min. stirring occasionally.
Pour the salsa into clean bottles putting on new lids and rings and put the bottles into a water bath for 35 min.
Pour the salsa into clean bottles putting on new lids and rings and put the bottles into a water bath for 35 min.
and voila you have great salsa to heat you up during the cold winter months.
With the few tomatoes I had left (You can see that my pan wasn't going to hold anymore) I plopped them into a Ziploc and put them into the freezer to use to make soup.
With the few tomatoes I had left (You can see that my pan wasn't going to hold anymore) I plopped them into a Ziploc and put them into the freezer to use to make soup.
The green tomatoes where placed in boxes and put in a cool, dark place to wait for them to ripen.
You can see some of the tomatoes already ripening. I can go down and get ripe tomatoes for months this way.
Yes! Now my tomatoes are organized for another year.