Totally Tomatoes!!!

Ripe tomatoes are finally here.  I made salsa and canned tomatoes this past week.  I was able to make 20 pints of salsa using only ingredients from my garden - onions, peppers, and tomatoes.  The salsa turned out great!

This is an example of "don't do what I did".  I canned the last bit of salsa into quart jars.  I've actually canned salsa into quart jars for years not knowing that it is a "no-no".

Here is the salsa recipe that I used:

Chili Salsa (Hot Tomato - Pepper Sauce)




Now that we have enough salsa for the next year, all future tomatoes that we don't eat fresh will be canned.  I use a quart of canned tomatoes in spaghetti sauces, chili, and pretty much any recipe where you would use canned tomatoes.  Here are instruction on how to can tomatoes.

Start with tomatoes.  Like those burgundy/green tomatoes?  Those are an heirloom variety called Cherokee Purple.  They taste great!  And look cool...

I pressure canned these tomatoes.  You can also process them using a water bath.  The processing time is longer and I was in a hurry this day.

The most annoying part about pressure canning (in my opinion) is having to watch the pressure gauge constantly to make sure it is right where it is supposed to be.  I have to adjust my burner heat up and down a little to keep the needle where it needs to be.  I forgot how much I dislike standing and watching to make sure the needle stays at 12 pounds of pressure.  I will be water bath processing future batches.  It takes longer, but I can at least clean my kitchen while I wait.


But, in the end when I add all the jars of tomatoes and salsa to my basement storage, it is all worth the time and effort.

Creamy Fruit Salad Recipe

We picked strawberries, raspberries, and the first blueberries this morning.  There weren't enough berries to make a pie or tart.  So, I made this simple fruit salad instead.  It was our dessert after dinner tonight.

The recipe is really simple, equal parts vanilla or plain yogurt and coolwhip and a little bit of instant vanilla pudding.  Mix it all up, the add fruit.  Fold gently.  This is the specific recipe I used tonight.  You can increase or decrease based on how much salad you want.


2 cups vanilla yogurt
2 cups coolwhip, thawed
1/2 of a small packet of instant vanilla pudding mix
Combine all togther in a large bowl

Add 8 cups of fruit
Gently fold.  Enjoy!  Here is our finished product.

Blue Potatoes and Cherry Pie

We harvested our first green beans for dinner tonight.  I thought it would be fun to let the boys dig up some of the blue potatoes.  One of the plants is starting to die, so harvest is nearing anyway.  This is our first year growing blue potatoes.  We can let you know how they taste after dinner tonight.

Jacob is very excited to show you a blue potato.  They are actually more like a very deep purple.

I am cooking these just like boiled baby red potatoes.  I'll serve them with butter and parsley.






I used up the cherries from our cherry tree today.  They became 7 pints of Cherry Jam using a recipe from my friend Ronda.  Ronda owns an orchard up at Greenbluff.  The remaining cherries became a pie.  Yummy!

We plan to go up to Greenbluff and get some more cherries this weekend.  I'm after the sour "pie cherries".  They are fantastic!  Maybe I'll see you up there.