canning tomatoes

20 pounds cut and ready for cooking
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

We got a hot tip from a good friend about some u-pick tomatoes and then end of season batch buys for some San Marzano tomatoes!

San Marzanos are the chef's choice sauce tomato and, from our own experience growing them in our backyard, we agree! So, we really couldn't turn down the opportunity to load up on them while they were at their peak of flavor. We ended up with 120 pounds, all told and cooked them down into a nice base for curries and pizza and pasta sauces.

This first picture is one batch of tomatoes (each batch was 20 pounds!), cut and ready for cooking...!

canning ops
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

Canning equipment all set up. We have our water bath canner, the food mill, some cooked down tomatoes ready for the food mill, and a bowl for the skins and seeds.

ready for the food mill
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

These tomatoes were cooked down and are ready for the food mill which will separate out the bitter seeds and skins.

Since we just wanted a general tomato sauce base, we didn't add anything to the tomatoes while cooking them down although, if you want to make ready-made sauces, there are lots of recipes, including Barbara Kingsolver's Family Secret tomato sauce (pdf).

tomato sauce in the food mill
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

It takes a lot of cranking to get all of the seeds and skins removed.

solids from a 20lb. batch of tomatoes
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

We kept the solids for composting.

the final product!
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

And, finally, the final product! We got about 16 quarts of sauce from all of the tomatoes (minus some we used on the fly in dinners made while we were in the process of canning)! It took 3 days to finish the canning...it was a lot of time and work, but worth it for the good tomato sauces we'll have during the off-season!!!

vegan mofo day 1 - pasta pomodoro

pasta pomodoro
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

I'm attempting to post our vegan meals for the entire month of October as part of Vegan Mofo 2009. I can't make any promises or guarantees since having a 2-month old and a 3-year old can sometimes get pretty hairy! But, we'll see how it goes.

Expect to see mostly pictures of our meals as I'm mostly cooking from cookbooks these days...and expect easy-peasy and kid-friendly meals. But (!), for the meals I just throw together, I'll post my "recipe!"

So, to kick it off, here's our dinner from tonight: a simple pasta pomodoro. We had impromptu dinner guests who needed to be at an appointment only 60 minutes after we arrived at our house, so the meal had to be uber-easy and uber-quick!

Ingredients

• pasta
• minced garlic
• diced heirloom tomatoes
• basil, chiffonated
• olive oil

Toss cooked pasta with olive oil.

Add minced garlic and toss.

Top with desired amount of chiffonated basil and diced tomatoes. Add salt to taste (optional) and enjoy!

Baked Polenta with Tomato-Pepper Sauce

Adapted from Sunset Magazine (November 2006).

Tom and I made this for Heather's bday celebration last night. It was relatively quick to make -- I was even able to do some prep with Dylan in tow -- and it got quite a positive response. You can do a lot of the prep in advance and then just save the final broiling to just before mealtime....

We doubled the recipe and had more than enough for 5 big adult eaters (well, 4 big eaters and one small eater).

Ingredients

• 5 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1-28 oz. can of Fire Roasted crushed tomatoes (or just crushed tomatoes)
• 1 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano (or Italian herbs)
• 1 medium yellow onion, halved lengthwise and then cut into thin wedges
• 1 medium bell pepper, cut lengthwise into thin slices
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• one small head of broccoli cut into small bite-size pieces
• 1/2 tsp. chili flakes
• 2 tubes of prepared polenta sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
• 8 oz. Follow Your Heart vegan mozarella, cut into 1/4 inch slices.

Pre-heat broiler to high.

Heat 3 tbsp. oil in a 2- to 3-quart saucepan set over medium heat.

Add tomatoes and oregano and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

While tomatoes are simmering, heat 1 tbsp. of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.

Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, chili flakes, and broccoli and stir to combine.

Cover pan and lower heat to medium and cook until broccoli is done, about 5-8 minutes.

Add in tomato sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.

While sauce is cooking, pour remaining 1 1/2 tbsp. oil into a 9x13 baking pan and tilt to coat the bottom of the pan.

Add polenta slices to pan and turn to coat them in oil.

Arrange polenta slices in slightly overlapping rows.

Broil polenta about 4 inches from heating element until golden brown and crispy (about 10-15 minutes).

Pour sauce over broiled polenta, then arrange mozarella slices over the top.

Broil until cheese is melted and beginning to brown (about 2 minutes).

Let cool slightly before serving.

Chickpea and Tomato Salad

(modified from Sunset Magazine, July 2006)

This was a big hit at Heather and Assaf's the other night.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. tomatoes, rinsed, cored, and chopped
• 2 15 oz. cans of unsalted chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 c. chopped sweet onion
• 1/3 c. extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 tbsp. sherry vinegar
• freshly ground pepper
• 1 tsp. coarse salt
• chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Mix chickpeas, tomatoes and onion in a large bowl.

In a medium bowl or jar, combine olive oil, vinegar and salt.

Shortly before serving, whisk or shake oil mixture well and pour over chickpea mixture.

Stir. Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with parsley, if desired.

Iced Herb Gazpacho

(from Natural Home and Garden)

Thusfar untried! If you try this recipe, please leave comments on how well you liked it...!

Ingredients

• 6 large tomatoes
• 4 cloves fresh garlic, pressed
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/2 c. red wine vinegar
• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 3 sprigs basil leaves
• 3 sprigs cilantro leaves
• 3 sprigs parsley leaves
• salt and pepper

Roughly puree tomatoes, garlic, cucumber, red pepper flakes, vinegar and oil. Add scallions and herbs and pulse until just chopped, being careful not to over-do it! Add salt and pepper to taste. If possible, chill overnight to allow flavors to blend.

Curried Cauliflower over Basmati Rice Pilaf

(adapted from Yamuna's Table by Yamuna Devi)

For this recipe, the tomatoes and the curry powder are the make-or-break ingredients. Use high quality fresh tomatoes (acidic heirlooms and dry-farmed tomatoes are great) or a good canned tomato like Muir Glen. If you use canned tomatoes, you will get a chunky sauce rather than a creamy glaze, but the recipe tastes great that way, too. As for curry powder, the best I have found is from Penzeys, but Indian markets are bound to sell great curry powder, too.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbs mustard seeds
• 1.5 tsp coriander powder
• 2 to 3 tsp (really good) hot curry powder
• 2 Tbs margarine (optional, for a richer taste)
• 1 medium cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 2 to 3 cups of (really good) chopped tomatoes
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• chopped cilantro

Steam the chopped cauliflower in a steamer for about five minutes and toast the mustard seeds over a medium heat until they begin to pop.

Meanwhile, combine the coriander and curry powders in a small cup, add a quarter cup of water, and stir.

When the mustard seeds have reached the popping point, add the powder mixture and 1 Tbs of margarine (if you're using it). Stir.

When the liquid has almost completely cooked away, add the chopped tomatoes. Stir to blend in the powder mixture.

Cook the tomatoes and spices over a medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have broken down and most of the liquid has cooked away.

Stir in the salt and pepper, and then mix in the cauliflower.

Stir until the cauliflower is completely coated with the tomatoes mixture.

Partially cover and cook over medium-low for another 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is soft.

Stir in the second tablespoon of margarine (if you're using it) and chopped cilantro.

Serve next to the rice.

Variation 1: Substitute a combination of any of the following for up to half the cauliflower on an equal volume basis:

• cooked chickpeas
• sweet corn kernels
• waxy potatoes (cut into small cubes and steamed for about 10 minutes)

Variation 2: If you are worried about the damage caused by boring tomatoes, add 1/4 tsp each of cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger (fresh or powdered) to the tomatoes along with the salt and pepper.