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gazpacho
In , on August 4, 2018 with No Comments

Gazpacho

My Dad found this recipe in the Des Moines Register newspaper, and with an abundance of garden veggies, we decided to give it a whirl. Everything in the recipe came from the garden, with the exception of the hot sauce and balsamic vinegar. The garlic I planted didn’t produce, but I’d picked up some really gorgeous organic garlic at the local farmer’s market, so technically it was produced within a few miles of my kitchen 🙂




You can easily adjust the amount up or down depending on how many mouths you have to feed and how many bowls you each will eat. It’s a great cold soup to eat on a warm summer’s day, and it’s a great way to use up produce if you have just a few of this and that in the garden.

Gazpacho

1-1/2 pounds tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 red bell peppers (or use whatever peppers you have), stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 small cucumbers (or 1 large one), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch dice

1/2 small sweet onion, or 2 large shallots, minced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1/3 cup good balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

5 cups tomato juice (I used homemade)

8 ice cubes

1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional)

Extra-virgin olive oil (for serving)

 

Combine tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, onion, and garlic in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of salt. Season with black pepper to taste. Let stand for about 5 minutes or until veggies release their juice. Add the vinegar, tomato juice, ice cubes, and hot sauce if using. Stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate to blend flavors, at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.

Discard any unmelted ice cubes, and season soup with salt and pepper to taste. Serve cold, drizzling individual portions with olive oil. Garnish with extra veggies, croutons, chopped pitted olives, or finely diced avocados if you like.

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dehydrated romas
In , on August 4, 2018 with No Comments

Dehydrated Roma Tomatoes

Are you overrun with tomatoes in your garden? Tired of canning them? Then break out your dehydrator and make some “sun-dried” tomatoes. I’ve always wanted to do this, so I decided this was the year. I’d already made my salsa and spaghetti sauce from my paste tomatoes, and there were still a few left in the garden. I hate wasting produce, especially when you have to baby them to get them to produce in the first place, so I decided to dehydrate the handful that were ready.

I dehydrated only my paste tomatoes this time, but you can definitely dehydrate whatever type of tomato you have. I had slicers in the garden, but they were slated to be used in a different recipe.




Dehydrating tomatoes (and everything else) is really easy. You wash the tomatoes, removing any stems, and thinly slice them. Place them on the dehydrator sheets, and turn on the machine. I have an inexpensive Presto dehydrator, which doesn’t have a thermostat control, but if you have a dehydrator that does have one, set the temperature to 135 degrees Fahrenheit.

I filled the 4 trays that came with the dehydrator. Try not to have the slice touch each other – air needs to be able to flow around them. Let tomatoes sit in the dehydrator until crispy. You can periodically turn the slices over to help them along. The time it takes will depend on the style of tomatoes you use and how juicy they are. My tomatoes processed for about 9 hours before they were done.

 

This is what I ended up with after 9 hours – all 4 trays of Roma slices fit into 1 quart jar! You can store them just like this and use in your favorite recipe that calls for sun-dried tomatoes.  You can store them in olive oil (then keep in the refrigerator). You can snack on them straight from the jar, or you can grind them up in a blender/food processor until it’s a fine powder. You can use the powder in soups, casseroles—anything you want to add a little tomato flavor to. You can also reconstitute the tomato powder with a little water to make quick tomato sauce to use in your favorite recipe.

I plan to keep dehydrating my Roma tomatoes as long as they keep producing this summer. It’s fun to have different items in my pantry, and it’s especially great to know that I don’t have to go buy that expensive little bottle of sun-dried tomatoes at the grocery store when I only need just a few in a recipe.

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crushed mexican tomatoes
In on August 4, 2018 with No Comments

Seasoned Crushed Tomatoes – Three Kinds

I’ve always wanted to can seasoned tomatoes, but most years after I finish canning salsa, spaghetti sauce, and soup, I usually end up just canning plain tomatoes as I’m getting tired of looking at them. But this year, the tomatoes ripened in batches, so it didn’t seem as if I was constantly in the kitchen working on them. I looked online at different recipes, but ultimately, I used the recipe from Ball’s Complete Book of Home Preserving. It lists 3 different kinds of spice blends for its herbed seasoned tomatoes, and I used that, but I wanted crushed tomatoes instead of doing quartered tomatoes as the recipe showed. It doesn’t really matter what form your tomato is in just as long as you put lemon juice in the jars.




The Ball recipe gives spice blends for Italian, Mexican, and Cajun. I just did Italian and Mexican, but I’ve listed all three here so you can use whichever one(s) you prefer. The recipe says that you will have enough spice blend for 6 pints of tomatoes, but I doubled and even tripled the amounts just to make sure I had enough made up since I was working with way more tomatoes than 6 pints. If you would prefer to use an already made Italian spice blend, use 4 tablespoons in place of the basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and sage in the recipe. If you have any spice blend left over after you’ve finished, just put the extra in a Ziploc baggie and use in your favorite recipe.

 

Seasoned Crushed Tomatoes

12 cups tomatoes, peeled and cored

Spice Blend (see below)

Bottled lemon juice

Salt (optional)

 

Italian Spice Blend

4 teaspoons basil

2 teaspoons thyme leaf

2-1/2 teaspoons oregano

1-1/2 teaspoons rosemary

1-1/2 teaspoons sage

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes (optional)

 

Mexican Spice Blend

6 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons oregano

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1-1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt (optional)

 

Cajun Spice Blend

3 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons paprika

1-1/2 teaspoons onion flakes

1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1-1/2 teaspoons ground allspice

1-1/2 teaspoons thyme leaf

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

 

Peel and core the tomatoes. Working in small batches, heat a few prepared tomatoes in the bottom of a large stockpot, crushing with a potato masher to get the tomatoes to release their juices. As they release the juice, keep adding tomatoes and crush with the potato masher until you have all the tomatoes in the stockpot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring gently. Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes.

While the tomatoes are heating, to each pint jar add 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon of canning salt (if using), and 2-1/2 teaspoons of the prepared spice blend you are using.

Ladle hot tomatoes into jars, add lids, and tighten rings just until finger tight. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, reduce heat, remove the canner lid, and let the jars sit in the canner for 5 minutes. Remove jars and let set on the counter for 12 hours. Check to ensure jars have sealed. If you have some that did not seal (lid will pop back up when you test – you can usually see it before you even test), put those jars in the refrigerator and eat them within a few days. Remove rings, wash jars, and store sealed jars in a cool, dry, dark place.

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spaghetti sauce canned 2
In , on July 26, 2018 with 6 Comments

Spaghetti Sauce for Canning

I’ve canned spaghetti sauce for a long time, and I’ve tried several different recipes over the years. I’ve tried the ones you find in the Ball canning book. I’ve even tried one where I roasted the tomatoes, onions, and garlic and then pureed everything to make a sauce. But the one I keep coming back to, and the one my sons request the most, is a recipe I received from a cousin. I’ve never put it on my blog, and I keep having to ask her for the recipe because I lose it—so I’m finally remembering to post this so I can quit bugging her!




Her original recipe calls for peeled, cored, and diced tomatoes, and that’s how I’ve done it for years, but this year I decided I wanted to try a smoother tomato sauce base and then continue on with the recipe as written. I’ve decided I like the smoother sauce best, but it’s delicious however you want to prepare it.

For a smoother sauce, wash your tomatoes thoroughly, and place them in a large stockpot. (I had so many tomatoes that I had to use my water bath canner to cook them all.)

If you are using strictly paste-style tomatoes (Roma, San Marzano, etc.), add about a 1/4 cup of water to the stockpot to prevent the tomatoes from sticking when you start to heat them. Turn up the heat and stir occasionally to prevent sticking/scorching. The tomatoes begin to soften and release their juice. Let this cook over medium heat for about an hour or so—time will depend on the kind of tomatoes you are using (paste-type tomatoes usually take longer). Once soft, turn off the heat, and let everything cool slightly before you start to work with them.

After everything has cooled (so that you don’t burn yourself), run all the tomatoes through a food mill to remove the skins, seeds, and cores. I picked up a reasonably priced one on Amazon for less than $30, but there are fancier ones if you prefer. Place all the pressed sauce into a second large stockpot, and continue with the recipe as below.

 

 

Spaghetti Sauce for Canning

30 cups of tomatoes, peeled, cored, and diced (can use tomato puree —see instructions above)

6-1/2 to 7 cups diced onions (I usually use 3 large yellow onions)

10 garlic cloves, finely minced (about 1 head of garlic)

2/3 cup olive oil

30 ounces tomato paste

3 tablespoons leaf basil, crumbled

6 whole bay leaves

2 tablespoons salt

6 tablespoons oregano

5 tablespoons leaf thyme

2/3 cup sugar

**Note: If you use fresh herbs instead of dried, double the amount listed above.

Place diced tomatoes (or tomato puree if you use a food mill) in a large stockpot. In another pot, heat the olive oil, and saute diced onions for 5 minutes. Add minced garlic to the onions, and saute for an additional 5 minutes. You want the onions to be soft and translucent, not brown. Stir frequently to prevent scorching – and garlic burns easily, so keep your eye on it. When soft, add the onion mixture to the stockpot with the tomatoes.

Add remaining ingredients to the tomatoes, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. You don’t want it to boil but cook at a nice simmer. Cook until it reaches your desired consistently. This may take several hours depending on the type of tomatoes you use and how thick you like your sauce (I usually cook for about 2-3 hours). If it isn’t thick enough for you, you can add more tomato paste as well. Taste as you cook, and adjust spices and salt as needed.

 

When finished cooking, remove bay leaves (and other stems if using fresh herbs). Ladle hot sauce into prepared jars. Add lids and adjust rings until just finger tight. Process in a boiling water bath for 45 minutes (quarts) or 35 minutes (pints). Remove from canner to the counter, and let jars sit for at least 12 hours before removing rings. Wash jars and store in a cool, dark place.

 

Yield will depend on how many tomatoes you do and how thick you make your sauce. I can usually get about 14 pints from this recipe when I use tomato puree. You may get more than that if you use diced tomatoes.

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In , , on September 13, 2015 with No Comments

Italian Pasta Salad and Watermelon Peach Salsa

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful fall day here in Iowa. The sky was a gorgeous blue, the humdity was low (finally!), and the bugs were nowhere in sight. Kevin wanted to grill some burgers, so I thought I’d whip up a couple side dishes to go along with.

The boys love my Italian Pasta Salad and tell me I need to make it more often. It’s an easy peasy recipe that’s great to take to potlucks and family reunions. I eyeballed the amount of each ingredient, so you can add more or less to your family’s taste.

I also decided to make a Watermelon Peach Salsa. We have four peach trees, the kind that has the little white peaches, and they are huge this year. I’ve already canned two lugs of peaches, so this was a great way to use up a few more. The recipe called for cilantro, but my family’s not a huge fan, so I omitted it.

 

Italian Pasta Salad

1 package rotini pasta noodles, cooked per package directions and cooled
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 a medium red onion, diced
1/2 a red bell pepper, diced
1/2 a green bell pepper, diced
1 3.8 ounce can sliced black olives
Half a package of turkey pepperoni (or regular if you prefer), sliced into strips
1 bottle zesty Italian dressing

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Set aside until cool.

In a large bowl, combine the diced onion, diced peppers, black olives and sliced pepperoni. Add the cooled pasta. Pour the Italian dressing over the pasta, and mix until well combined. Refrigerate for several hours to let the flavors meld together.

 

 

Watermelon Peach Salsa

2 cups diced watermelon
2 cups diced fresh peaches
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 a green bell pepper, diced
1/2 a red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
Juice of 1 lime
Fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, and mix well. Refrigerate for several hours to let the flavors marinade together.

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In , , on August 8, 2014 with No Comments

Canning 101: Fresh Tomato Soup

It’s been a slow tomato season this year. First it was too wet this spring, and this summer really hasn’t been warm enough to ripen the tomatoes. They love heat, and we just haven’t had it here in eastern Iowa. We finally had our first BLTs the other night, and today I had enough tomatoes to can something. I usually can whole tomatoes first, but as we grew celery this year (and it was ready to use), I decided to start off tomato season by making tomato soup.

I first got the recipe years ago from my chiropractor. We’d had a bumper tomato crop, and she shared her favorite tomato soup recipe with us. It was a hit, and I’ve been making it ever since. I’ve posted the recipe below, but I do tweak it a bit. I’ve been making it for years now, and I’ve always used the same heavy-duty stockpot, so any more I really just eyeball the vegetable amounts. I know how full the pot has to be to get so many pints of soup, but to start out, it will be easier for you to follow the recipe. You can adjust ingredients after you go through it the first time to see how many onions or how much celery your family likes in the soup. I usually end up with triple the amount of vegetables. I use 1 stick of butter and add enough chopped onions and celery to completely cover the bottom of my stockpot. Then I fill the rest of the pot up with diced tomatoes and end up with approximately 21 pints of soup. Again, once you try the recipe, you can adjust the vegetable amounts to your liking.

 

Fresh Tomato Soup

3 onions, diced
1/2 bunch celery, diced
5 quarts diced tomatoes, peeled and cored
1 stick butter (not margarine)
3-4 Tablespoons flour

In a large stockpot, melt butter. Add diced onions and celery. Saute vegetables on medium-low heat until the celery and onions are soft but not brown, approximately 15 minutes.

Add 3-4 Tablespoons flour (add just enough to soak up any liquid in the pan…you just want to bind together all the vegetables). Cook for approximately 5-10 minutes over medium-low heat. This will give the butter/flour mixture a slightly nutty flavor.

Add your diced tomatoes. Simmer for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

 

 

When the tomatoes have released their juice and it resembles soup (as opposed to simply chopped vegetables), you are ready to can the soup.

 

 

Ladle hot soup into hot jars. Add lids and seal.

Process in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes (for pints) or 35 minutes (for quarts).

Yield:  Approximately 4 quarts.

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