Life is a Bowl of Cherries

There are reasons why I am posting less frequently this summer than I sometimes do, the largest of which is my lovely tomato patch.  Each harvest is measured in bushels, and then the process begins.  After picking for an hour or so the tomatoes need to be washed and sorted.  Which ones are so green they won't be usable for several days, which can be used in two to three days, which should be cut up right away?  Separate out the good slicers and the cherries as well. (The cherries sit on our coffee table like a big bowl of candy!) Once the sort cycle is complete there are a few hours of cutting, then there is the cooking.

Deciphering Hieroglyphics

Tomato season is bearing down with full force.  Two days ago I made ketchup (from a new recipe out of Preserving Food without Canning or Freezing) and it was the best I've ever made.  Indeed it's the first I've made in about 15-20 years!  This morning I canned up 21 quarts of stewed tomatoes from one bushel of tomatoes.

Tonight there are two more bushels

waiting for morning when they'll be converted into pasta sauce.  That's not even a large picking.  In the next couple of weeks I expect to be picking at least four bushels every two to three days.  I don't mind though. I expect to be tomato independent this winter!

You'd never think with all these tomatoes to deal with that I'd be in the process of picking up a hobby, but that's exactly what I've gone and done.