I now have 31 quarts of tomato sauce for the Winter, 12 quarts of whole tomatoes and 6 pints salsa, of course. I’ve got a huge bag of plain dried slices of Romas in the freezer, but still have to dehydrate some with Italian Seasoning sprinkled on top. Then I will get busy dehydrating tomatoes for paste. I’ve been leaving a few of my green peppers on the plants so they will turn red and when that happens I’m going to dehydrate some green and red peppers for pepper flakes as well. If I have time, I’m considering dehydrating a number of herbs and veggies - tomatoes, carrots, onions, broccoli, peppers, basil, parsley and garlic too. Those would make a nice blend for salads. I could dehydrate them then crush them and put them in a shaker with large holes and bingo!! Sometimes I just like a chunk of lettuce with some kind of dressing and this would be a great sprinkle for the top or even to toss into a regular salad. But we shall see. I’ve got tons to do without thinking up more stuff. I certainly don’t want my "To Do List" to get bigger!
Tonight I’m pretty much just going to prepare for canning crushed tomatoes on Friday. Most of my quart jars are clean and in boxes in the basement but I have to get down there and get more out and I want to run them through the dishwasher on the hot cycle just to err on the side of caution.
I went out and cut more broccoli sprouts, blanched them and froze them this evening. While I was out in the garden I checked on my tomatoes and by tomorrow I’ll have another couple bushel.
We had fried ham sandwiches again tonight. But we have a new tomato in town. It's called a Purple Cherokee. I was having a really difficult time deciding which of my plants were Black Krim and which were Purple Cherokee and it's still not an easy call but after both fruits grew you could actually tell that one was different from the other and since I know which one is the Black Krim it made the identification process a little easier. It's a really cool tomato and hubby is rather partial to it. I was surprised. He's not much into different kinds of tomatoes. He likes his Persimmon and his big red beefsteak types so I was really pleased to see him enjoy this tomato.
There's always something to pick in the vegetable and herb gardens this time of year. Don’t you just love harvest time!!!
(Before I close my blog this evening I wanted to let you know about the baby Carolina Wrens. When I picked the two babies up off the wooden deck floor of my home back on August 5, they had absolutely no feathers, nothing on their bodies. They were like little limp pieces of pie dough except they were breathing. The babies have grown, developed feathers and have flown off to start their adult lives. For hubby and me it was such a gift and it didn't need bows or fancy wrapping paper.)