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There is something so "green", earthy and satisfying about "putting up" your own tomatoes. I only have to read my February 3ed entry to know how much we love these jars of fresh tomatoes (i.e. sauce) in the middle of winter. There is absolutely nothing like the flavor of fresh grown tomatoes any time of year, but, ah to have it in winter...that is heaven. I learned to do this from Mike's mom who took care of everything on their farm including canning every kind of vegetable and fruit imaginable. Today we are moving back to the basics of eating what farmers grow all around us. We are lucky to live just a stone's throw (or about two miles) from a fresh farmer's market in the country, and we also have a very active farmer's market here in Normal, Illinois. Eating "fresh" has spoiled us. We can now tell the difference. This is one aspect of the "going green" movement that we love. I now have my process of "canning" tomatoes down to a science. It takes a few important kitchen tools, and some very exact steps. First I core the top part of the tomato (just a small cutting out of the tip); second, I drop the tomatoes into boiling hot water for about two minutes, take them out and peel the skin which comes off easily after this short boiling. I shed the skin while holding the tomato under running cold water as it is very hot. I then put these tomatoes into a large container (I use our large roasting pan). I chop up onions and peppers to go with the tomatoes, smash up the tomatoes and then stir in the onions and peppers. Salt a little. All of this goes into a large pot on stove to heat to almost boiling. Then I boil the canning jars with their lids; take them out one at a time and pour in the tomato sauce. I seal them tight. If you have sealed them correctly, you will hear a popping noise after a short amount of time to indicate, the seal is o.k. Now, I know this seems like a lot of work, but I did today's batch this morning, all before 10:00 a.m. But, I once told a friend of mine about this "putting up" of tomatoes and she said she also "put up" tomatoes. She said that she goes to the grocery store, picks out several cans of tomatoes, brings them home, takes them out of the bag, and then "puts them up" into her kitchen cupboard. Both ways are good; one just tastes better. 
There is something so "green", earthy and satisfying about "putting up" your own tomatoes. I only have to read my February 3ed entry to know how much we love these jars of fresh tomatoes (i.e. sauce) in the middle of winter. There is absolutely nothing like the flavor of fresh grown tomatoes any time of year, but, ah to have it in winter...that is heaven. I learned to do this from Mike's mom who took care of everything on their farm including canning every kind of vegetable and fruit imaginable. Today we are moving back to the basics of eating what farmers grow all around us. We are lucky to live just a stone's throw (or about two miles) from a fresh farmer's market in the country, and we also have a very active farmer's market here in Normal, Illinois. Eating "fresh" has spoiled us. We can now tell the difference. This is one aspect of the "going green" movement that we love. I now have my process of "canning" tomatoes down to a science. It takes a few important kitchen tools, and some very exact steps. First I core the top part of the tomato (just a small cutting out of the tip); second, I drop the tomatoes into boiling hot water for about two minutes, take them out and peel the skin which comes off easily after this short boiling. I shed the skin while holding the tomato under running cold water as it is very hot. I then put these tomatoes into a large container (I use our large roasting pan). I chop up onions and peppers to go with the tomatoes, smash up the tomatoes and then stir in the onions and peppers. Salt a little. All of this goes into a large pot on stove to heat to almost boiling. Then I boil the canning jars with their lids; take them out one at a time and pour in the tomato sauce. I seal them tight. If you have sealed them correctly, you will hear a popping noise after a short amount of time to indicate, the seal is o.k. Now, I know this seems like a lot of work, but I did today's batch this morning, all before 10:00 a.m. But, I once told a friend of mine about this "putting up" of tomatoes and she said she also "put up" tomatoes. She said that she goes to the grocery store, picks out several cans of tomatoes, brings them home, takes them out of the bag, and then "puts them up" into her kitchen cupboard. Both ways are good; one just tastes better. 
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