Tomato Day

Each fall, Lynnie, Beth and I get together and make stewed tomatoes.  Everything we put in to our mix, comes from our gardens, except the celery.  We all freeze our tomatoes through out the season, as well as sweet and hot peppers.  The onions and garlic are just in storage in the root cellar.

It's a super fun day, albeit a long one.  We put up 122 pints this year, which is a record for us!  The result of our hard work, both from summer gardening and then processing, is a flavorful stewed tomato that is unmatched by anything that can be purchased in a grocery store.

Lynnie peeling onions and Beth peeling tomatoes.

We figured out that if we freeze the tomatoes the skins slip right off  when slightly thawed.  No need to blanch.  Plus, we have a lot more tomatoes since we freeze all our extras as they ripen throughout the season.  

We fill three roasters this size and a huge pot on the stove. 

Processing takes place in these two pressure canners.  Lynnie has had hers since she first was married, over 40 years ago.  It's the one on the left.  Many, many, many jars have run through that pressure canner!

Three of four years ago, Beth showed up to tomato day with a darling "tomato day" apron for each of us, that she had made!  They are now part of our tradition.

  

The fabric is adorable, with all these little tomatoes.   Beth appliqued this larger tomato on to the middle pocket for a little extra tomato interest!