The Kitchen Window

The Kitchen Window
Antique Milk Bottles with Herbs and Flowers

Welcome!

Welcome to the Frog Hollow Farm blog! I've been blogging since January 2010 and have switched from Blogger to Word Press, but I'm back to Blogger because, for me, it's easier to use. My husband and I live on a little farm in Northwest New Jersey. We have some chickens and a very large vegetable garden with asparagus and raspberries, and rows and rows of sunflowers, snapdragons and zinnias. Traveling, entertaining, gardening, spending time with family, studying Italian, blogging and reading keep us busy and happy. With all of this going on, moving towards a simpler life seems almost impossible but it's definitely a daily goal.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Making Tomato Puree at Frog Hollow Farm

I'm so happy to be back blogging - things are just way too busy for me around here between painting the big room, traveling and getting back to work on a consulting basis. Yes, I know, it'as all good and it's exactly what I want to be doing, but sometimes too many new things at once catch me off guard, and my routines become lost in the shuffle.  

 Blogging has unfortunately gone by the wayside, and I've been missing you all terribly.  

Today I thought I'd post about my morning project - making tomato puree from the delicious tomatoes in  FHFB's vegetable garden. 

This is a photo of his garden in the late spring - that's the side of our house in the background.

September has always been the time of year when I've been back at school either teaching or bogged down in the administrative tasks of getting a new school year off to a great start.  Now, with retirement, I'm working on taking in a deep breath and reminding myself that I have the time to do the things that need to be done, as well as the fun things that I love doing, like decorating, cooking, shopping, entertaining, designing etc. 

So this morning I thought I'd continue tackling the tomatoes by cooking them down, milling out the skins and seeds, and simmering the whole thing down to a thick delicious puree that I could freeze for the winter. 

 First off I needed to give them a good washing - at this time of year many of the tomatoes have fallen on the ground and have some dirt on them - and they just get dusty hanging out there on the tomato plants.

You can also see that they start growing a bit funny at this time of the year - earlier in the summer we don't get these types of markings on the tomatoes.

After I've washed the tomatoes I cut them up into quarters or smaller pieces and cut off any spots that wouldn't normally be eaten.  All of the tomato pieces are then put into a large stockpot, without any water, on a very low flame, with the lid on, until they cook down a bit.  You don't need to cook them down too much this time, just enough to be able to have them pass through the food mill easily.

This is a picture of the food mill that we use for tomato puree.  It clamps onto our counter and separates the puree from the seeds and skin.  This food mill is made out of aluminum and stainless steel.  A bowl to catch the puree is set up as well as a smaller bowl to catch the skin and seeds. 


After the puree is separated from the pulp and seeds, it's cooked down for quite a while, so that most of the water cooks out - this will allow for a richer puree when its made into a sauce later on.  I only add a small branch of fresh basil to the puree while it's cooking down - no salt or other seasonings until it's begin used for sauce later on.  You can remove the basil before freezing the puree, but you don't have to. 
I'm using these mason jars to freeze the puree this time.

Yes, all those tomatoes cooked down to only about 6 cups of puree. 

According to several on-line sources you can freeze the puree in mason jars with no problems (I always prefer glass to plastic) as long as you leave about a third of the jar empty, to allow for expansion.  We'll see how this works - I put them into the freezer up in the kitchen without lids on to see what happens - someone online recommended freezing without the lids and then putting the lids on afterwards - I don't know if that really makes a difference or not. 

Here they are on the top shelf of the freezer - without the lids.  Later tonight I'll put the lids on the jars and move them downstairs to the other freezer.

I hope that all is well with you and a big, big thank you so much for stopping by and not forgetting about me!  I have so many things to blog about in the next few days - our visit to Vermont, the decorating and new design in the big room upstairs and my new fall table setting in the conservatory. 

I'm participating in Metamorphosis Monday - I used to participate in that meme quite a bit and I'm happy to be involved again - there are so many creative ideas there - please take a moment to stop by.

Ciao, bella!

12 comments:

  1. Wow....I never knew canning was such a process,,as you know I'm not a farm girl and know absolutely nothing about putting up anything. But it has been fun seeing what you are up to.

    Welcome back,

    Jo

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi its me again, I don't know if my comment posted so I'll give it another try. I was saying how happy I am to see you back and that I have missed your posts. I also said I could take a spoon and eat the entire jar of the tomato puree it looks so fresh and delicious.
    Looking forward to lunch on Tuesday, I think it is going to be a gorgeous day.
    xoxo
    Bunny

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like the idea of putting the jars in the freezer and they look delicious. This winter it like sunshine when you open a jar. Lovely!
    Dottie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sorry I need to correct the above sentence.
    This winter it will be like sunshine when you open a jar.

    Dottie

    ReplyDelete
  5. I feel lost without routines. Even if I don't always stick with them, I need to have something to strive for! Fall is a great time to get back on track, it's always been like a New Year for me.

    The sauce looks delicious. It must taste sooo good, I'm thinking how flavorful garden tomatoes are. Looking forward to hearing about your trip to Vermont!

    ReplyDelete
  6. WELCOME BACK FARM GIRL, MISSED YOU VERY MUCH. YOUR GRANDMOTHER MASTERSON WOULD BE SO PROUD OF YOU AND YOUR CANNING. DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN SHE DID IT EVERY SUMMER. ONE SUMMER SHE CANNED OVER 800 JARS OF VEGGIES, AND JELLIES. AS A CHILD WE HAD VEGGIES AND HOMEMADE JELLY ALL WINTER AND SPRING, AND THEN SHE STARTED ALL OVER AGAIN. TAKE CARE, LOVE, AUNT RIZ

    ReplyDelete
  7. wow...this was right up my alley...love this...and love your kitchen too...and your garden...

    so HAPPY to visit with you today, my friend

    you've been missed
    :-)

    kary
    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  8. That is quite a garden you have going! LOVE that pumpkin too!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wish I had room for a big garden like that, then again, wish I had the time to try me hand at canning too! It's all on my someday list. Good to see you are able to enjoy these things in your retirement.
    Stopping by from Met Mon party!
    Rose

    ReplyDelete
  10. Now that I am retired, September has a new meaning! I sit on the porch with my coffee and sigh in relief as the school bus goes by! Not that I didn't love teaching, but for everything there is a season.
    I do hope you are enjoying this beautiful season at your farm. The tomatoes look wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Would love to know of a great resource for growing pumpkins. My poor hubby has tried and tried and they always die and fall off the vine before they mature, thank you. I enjoy your blog.

    Mary L

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are like little treasures, I cherish each and every one of them! Frog Hollow Farm Girl reserves the right to edit or delete all comments that are offensive, hateful in nature, or attack other visitors to this blog. All potential spam comments will be deleted.