Wednesday, September 10, 2008

75lbs of tomatoes+25 lbs apples +50lbs peaches=What was I thinking?!

Today i went to my local farm store, Kunze Farms (which I love). I went seeking tomatoes. I got a little giddy when I saw all the fruit, too. I thought, I'll do tomatoes today, peaches tomorrow, and applesauce friday. Well, being the newbie canner that I am, I thought, I'll wait til after dinner to get going...I forgot that tomatoes take longer than other water bath canning....so, I only got half way through tonight (although I have a couple hours of water bathing my jars before bed)...And, I kinda forgot that I have an eye appt in the morning, and company coming for dinner...and plans on friday morning. OOPS. Well, a few late nights and I should be good to go, and have yummy deliciousness in my pantry and freezer to make it allllll worth it! Oh...and I baked some bread in there too. Supermom, I am not...you should see the mess! (Sorry, Delores, it's not the orderly system you properly taught me...it started that way, my kitchen was spotless when I started!!I'll get it down someday).

And, Mom...for the record, it's way more fun doing this together! I was lonely skinning my juicy red friends! :( Praying you have a smooth weekend! I love you!

9 comments:

Lee Ann said...

That is a ton of stuff! Hope you get it all done. And...it's WAY more fun when you have someone to do it with.

Meredith said...

wow, you went crazy! Not bad crazy, of course, just crazy! I couldn't even make it through the first layer of my peaches this afternoon. I was too busy making my yummy dinner. Save a couple of those tomatoes and I'll give you a delicious recipe.

Julie D. said...

for crying out loud. i can't even imagine. great job, though!

Michelle P said...

Oh my! You are ambitious! Good luck with all of that. I may be calling you for help with tomatoes. What was the box price on the toms? Are you glad to have gotten them there rather than Gateway?

Dee said...

You've got plenty of time. Apples can wait; they hold over for quite some time. Lay out your peaches you should have a few days before they are ready. Tomatoes can be slowed down by putting them the frig or you can always make salsa or tomatoe sauce or soup with them (if they are really, really ripe). Have fun; enjoy! You'll getter done. And if you can't, give me a call, I'll can with you any time!

Tamara said...

It does feel overwhelming when your house is covered with fruit - I would set the apples outside in a box or basket - the cool nights are good for them - Dee is right - they can wait. 50 lbs. of peaches is about 5 hours of work and they will go fast - get Hayden in there to help with skinning and pulling out the pits - Taylor and Ellie love that part! I found that they fill a jar nicely if you just cut the half into 4 pieces - I used to do 7 or 8 slices per half peach as taught by the Peach Princess, but I decided to make it faster - some people just can the peaches halved - keep it simple. I'm not a big fan of canning tomatoes - my mom, who I consider a master canner from my childhood, tells me that tomatoes are cheap to buy in a can at Costco and for the work involved it is probably easier to buy them that way for making salsa, etc. - maybe that is because I don't use a ton of them though... good luck with your endeavor - you are quickly becoming a pro!

Denise Crawford said...

I'm sure Grandma Gladys is up in heaven with a big ole grin on her face! You are a girl after her own heart. I'm a little sad I wasn't here to can them with you! It's much more fun doing it together. Mmmmmm, can't wait to taste those peaches!!!

Love,
Mom

Trish said...

WOW.

That's all I have to say.

You can do it!

niccole w. said...

Next year you gotta teach me to can! How did your shoot go?