The bounty of tomatoes
I would like to tell you that the tomatoes you see in the photo above, came from my husband’s garden, but they did not. They came from a way more talented Amish farmer who produces so many tomatoes that he has to give them away. My good friend Cathy brought them to me, hoping I could use them. Yay! What a blessing!
For those of you who like to spend lots of time in the kitchen, maybe you can relate to my victory. Others of you may think I am crazy. I just spent the last two days trying out a new experiment. The truth is, at this time of year, I am addicted to canning tomatoes. Come over some weekend and you will find me ignoring all other responsibilities and canning tomatoes into some form or other. Well, this week I branched out and tried something new. Tomato paste. I got a bunch of Romas and thought I would try making paste. Well, 25 pounds of tomatoes and eight hours later, I found myself questioning whether three pounds of paste was all worth it. Now, as soon as I tasted it, I found that it was! Super nummy! Oh, it was like tomato gold, especially after all the time it took to bake it down to paste! Crazy though, how 25 pounds of tomatoes can cook down to only eight 6-ounce packages of paste. Now the next question is, when do I use it? I think I need to wait until the dead of winter, I surely can’t crack it out tomorrow and use it!
The fruit of all that labor