Sunday, August 24, 2008

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Little did I know when I planted 12 tomato vines this spring that they would eventually take over my kitchen and my life.

Saturday morning:



Saturday evening:



Ah, here's ten quarts of canned tomatoes and three quarts of Roasted Tomato Basil Soup ready for the freezer.

But look what's sitting next to them: more tomatoes! I've won the battle, but not yet the war. My next weapon of mass tomato destruction: Sneaky Momma's Tomato Sauce.

So that's what my weekend looked like. How was yours?

24 comments:

  1. Hi, Jen (may I call you Jen?)! I'm a 14-year old soon-to-be sophomore. I have been vegetarian since 8th grade and have always been trying to find ways to continue helping my environment and the animals that live in it. Once I found out about the term "vegan", I thought, "Hey, this is a great idea!" But after a few months of contemplating, I realized that I had no idea how to eat vegan without making my mom buy too much stuff from the grocery store (organic stuff isn't cheap...). I almost gave up hope but when I found your blog, my life took a turn for the better. I realized that these recipes don't require that much shopping at all and are so easy, I made about all my meals for today and tomorrow for the first day of school. Best of all, a lot of the recipes required things that I just had lying around the house (I found a whole carrot in the cupboard under the sink. 0_0). Now, I'm eating vegan and I'm actually excited to show off my lunch at school. Your blog has definitely kept me going and I bought your book the first chance I got. Thank you so much for your wonderful blog!

    Sorry for posting such a large comment...

    Love you and God Bless us and the animals!

    Maggie "the Magster" Bartolomeo

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  2. Oh my, that's a LOT of tomatoes! They don't grow as big as that in Norway. Or maybe that's just an excuse because mine were good for nothing but pizza topping. :oP

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  3. That is so awesome!!!

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  4. Anonymous2:09 PM

    My kitchen looks alot like yours, except change tomatoes for Bhut Jolokia peppers.

    You can see pictures of the peppers on my blog:

    http://tangledupinstitcksandstring.blogspot.com

    We roasted a lot of peppers!

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  5. LUCKY!!! My tomato plants have produced exactly bumpkis this year. Basil I'm swimming in, tomatoes nada. That said, we have a 30 pound box of fresh Western Slope peaches sitting here, being made into pies and jam and chutney and all sorts of delicacies by my husband. My kitchen smells like a million bucks. :)

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  6. What a beautiful haul! I'm sure they'll all go to some sort of delicious use.

    And by the way, I've been lurking for a bit but finally bought my own bento supplies. A co-worker got me your book for my birthday; hooray for Amazon wishlists! I can't wait to start. Thanks for being an inspiration :)

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  7. Anonymous2:43 PM

    I don't have any tomato plants yet but a friend of my husband's has some cherry tomatoes and they are going out of town and won't be able to pick them. I'll do it!

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  8. You are doing exactly what we are doing! Lots of fun, isn't it? It brings back so many memories of my grandmother trying to keep up with her tomatoes.

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  9. What kind of Roasted Tomato Basil Soup did you make? I'm always looking for a good recipe but haven't found one I love yet.

    Also, I wonder if you have any tips on freezing soup. I'm new to this, but absolutely must start because there are so many soups I like to make that my husband won't eat - and eating an entire pot of soup before it goes bad is quite a challenge!

    Love the blog. I'm not vegan (or even vegetarian) but I find your lunches inspiring!

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  10. wow. so very impressed!

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  11. >>What kind of Roasted Tomato Basil Soup did you make? I'm always looking for a good recipe but haven't found one I love yet.

    The recipe is from my cookbook, actually. It's the only tomato soup my son has ever liked. :-)

    >>Also, I wonder if you have any tips on freezing soup.

    It's easy! Fill clean canning jars or plastic freezer containers with the soup, leaving about an inch headspace, lid, label, and freeze. I find that my pureed soups need a little spin in the blender to smooth them out again after they've been frozen.

    If you want more info on freezing the "Ball Blue Book" has a section on freezing at the end.

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  12. Anonymous4:24 AM

    hey lots' tomatoes i love

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  13. So..... when are you going to post you delicious sounding recipes? *looks hopeful*

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  14. hi there! I totally adore your site!! Do you have any helpful lunchbox tips for a college girl constantly on the run? I don't have a lot of time in the morning to pack things up and always get hungry when I'm away from home. I have my own vegan site (it's pretty new) but most of my recipes are too time-consuming for me to make during the school-week. Thanks a ton!! Keep up the good work!
    -Sonia

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  15. I really want to learn canning this year, but I'm afraid I won't have enough tomatoes! I have two plants, and each has produced exactly one tomato. It'd be too expensive to buy tomatoes to can, so I'm hoping someone with a garden will unload some on me soon.

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  16. >>So..... when are you going to post you delicious sounding recipes?

    They're in the cookbook. :-)

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  17. The same thing, but with plums and blackberries.

    Up here in Bellingham, none of the tomatoes have ripened yet. I hope we get a decent haul before the season's done.

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  18. Our tomato plants are giving us some ripe tomatoes too. Can you post a recipe that you recommend? p.s. - We have fresh basil as well and that soup sounds good.

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  19. i will be canning tomatoes for the first time this year...could you add some recipes or links to recipes? thanks.

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  20. The tomatoes look delicious!! Did you can them in a water bath, or just freeze them? I canned tomatoes for the first time this weekend, it took forever, but I feel a real sense of accomplishment. After all that boiling thought there seems to be a lot of air in the jar and it makes me a bit nervous... Thanks for all the inspiration on the blog!

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  21. Hi there-- you may want to look at this link for ideas for using up tomatoes..

    http://frugalliving.about.com/od/frugalfoodsrecipes/tp/Uses_for_Tomatoes.htm?nl=1

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  22. Wow all those tomatoes look awesome!
    *drools*

    I have read your blog for awhile but only just recently made my own, so I've added you to my blog list. Hope thats alright!

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  23. Your tomato soup recipe and sneaky mama's tomato sauce recipe are our two favorite meals. I'm envious of your tomato haul!

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  24. May I suggest that next year, you space your plantings over about a month to make your harvest more manageable?

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