Tomatoes!

A busy, busy day in the kitchen! We had about a bushel of tomatoes from our garden, and then purchased more from a local farmer up the road. The final tally for the day's work:

Crushed Tomatoes: 39 quarts + 1 pint

Traditional Salsa: 24 pints

Also, my mom and I each tried a new experiemental salsa. Fortunately, we made small runs of these, because in the end, neither passed muster. I made 6 pints of salsa verde, using the Ball Home Preserving Book recipe which uses green tomatoes instead of tomatillos. This one might be salvaged with a few tweaks next time. The flavor was good, but I went a little overboard with the jalapenos. My mom wanted to try a new recipe out of her Hobby Farms Magazine which didn't call for tomato paste. Also way too hot, and too vinegary as well, for my tastes. We'll stick with our old standby for now.

Each year when the kitchen is full of tomatoes, I always think of this Pablo Neruda poem.