IEatLocalBecauseICan

I get a bit obsessed this time of year when all of the good things are available at the farmers market. There's also a chill in the air that makes me look at empty canning jars with an extra incentive to fill them with something delicious. This past weekend I determined to conduct my annual tomato extravaganza, so began early Tuesday morning by purchasing 60 pounds of them from my usual stand at the market. From those tomatoes I was able to can: - 11 pints of thick tomato sauce (for winter manicotti) - 9 pints of chunky & spicy tomato sauce (for over pasta) - 6 quarts of tomatoes (for chili and soup recipes) - 6 4-oz jars of oven roasted tomato paste (for freezer storage) The thick tomato sauce is amazing since it cooks down from two pots to one. I also really enjoyed the fact that I needed to buy very little else for the recipe since I grow it all in my garden: green peppers, garlic, basil, oregano... And there is only two tablespoons of brown sugar in the en...