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!

Voila!

What better way to spend a day than creating delicious dishes with vegetables from our garden, and with some additions from the pantry, fridge or freezer - very yummy creations are usually the result. 

FHFB's vegetable garden is in full swing right now, most especially with tomatoes.  These little yellow gems have the most exquisite flavor, and they don't seem to split as much on the vine as the smaller cherry tomatoes. 

Summer Sunday at The Tablescaper

I was so excited (really, like a little kid), when The Tablescaper dropped by my last post for Tablescape Thursday and left a comment and invited me to join her new meme called Summer Sunday.  Now, I know that this is open to everyone but it felt so special having her take the time to say that she hoped I would join her with some pics of the summer flowers here at Frog Hollow Farm. 

Right now we don't have too many flowers blooming, but FHFB does have some pretty petunias placed in two old planters in his garden that belonged to his mother Maria. 

Well, like I said, we don't have too many other flowers to post yet; but for future Summer Sunday posts you can expect pics of sunflowers, zinnias, snapdragons, cleome, roses, monarda, honeysuckle (I hope), daisies, water lilies from our pond and butterfly bush flowers. 

For today I wanted to post some pictures from FHFB's vegetable garden.  This is an organic garden that seems to get bigger and bigger each year.  It reminds me of summer in so many ways.  First of all, I always know where I will be able to find FHFB during the spring and summer months.  Also, to me there is nothing more wonderful (well, maybe there is, but anyway) I just think the smell of tomatoes growing in the sun is one of the most aromatic and delightful aromas there is.  The heat of the sun just bring scents of herbs, tomato vines, earth, water wafting up into the summer air.

Let's take a tour: 

Green leaf lettuce and kale....

Italian flat beans growing on poles....

Tomato plants....some from seed and some from my dad Andy.

Garlic, planted last November...I think by my extremely talented son, the artist and vegetarian.

This is a view of the cinderella pumpkins through some netting .  They are my favorite pumpkin - I always imagine that they will grow wheels and roll away with four mice as horses just like in the story of Cinderella.

Rows and rows of golden and red raspberries.  These bushes bear fruit in early July and then again in September.  The September berries always seem larger and sweeter. 

Marigolds are patiently waiting their turn.

FHFB is experimenting with lots of borders this year.  Here's a corner of the garden with monarda, lamb's ear and something else that I can't identify, maybe daisies? 

Wonderful mint for salads, mint juleps, Irish Blessings and bunches cut just right to look pretty on the table in little vases. Sometimes bunches of fresh herbs from the garden are the perfect table decorations!

FHFB also has oregano, basil, sage, rosemary, tarragon, chives, thyme and parsley growing in his garden.

Thank you so very much for stopping by and touring our vegetable garden here at Frog Hollow Farm.

Don't forget to stop by Summer Sunday at The Tablescaper!