Kitchen Tales

We are in the part of summer where an abundance of produce appears, either in your garden or farmer's market. I started paying attention to preserving the bounty from my then huge vegetable garden about 20 years ago. I got involved in canning for a few years, but I one year I asked myself, why? It is an effort. It's hot. I had always froze things like green beans and such, why not the rest of my bounty. So I started freezing whole tomatoes, roasting and then freezing tomatoes, making pesto, making basil cubes, all destined for the freezer. My produce now grows in four 200 gallon water tanks, tomatoes, eggplant, fennel. I also have accidental celery (it was in with the parsley) and multiple pots of herbs.

I shred zucchini, roast and freeze eggplant. Slice and freeze peppers. The zucchini and peppers are from Neighbor Bill, who was going to cut back but didn't. We also get cucumbers from him. And tomatoes. I can't remember the last time I bought a can of tomatoes.

Last week I brought one of my remaining bags of whole tomatoes up to thaw. I leave them in the refrigerator until thawed, then I pop the tomato out of the skin like a pit out of an olive. Voila! Tomatoes to become sauce. No making and then canning a sauce. I make it as I use it. Yes, I am brilliant.

Or......not.