60 pounds of tomatoes!

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 entire batch! It will be a healthy treat this winter with local, sustainably raised angus beef stirred together and stuffed in manicotti shells.

Since I had all these great jalapenos and other chilis ready to harvest, and since I had the water bath canner out and ready to go, I decided to can a few more items on Sunday. Pickled jalapenos are a favorite on the pulled pork street tacos and black beans and rice we make frequently. And I tried a new salsa recipe this year - fire salsa verde - full of multiple types of peppers (Anaheim, jalapeno, and cowhorn and havasu for heat). Mixed with onion, garlic, cilantro, lime zest and juice, and a few other ingredients, it's bright and spicy. It was a productive weekend!