Thoughts

Thoughts

Sunday, July 31, 2011

How I Survived Tomatogeddon and Lived to Tell About It.

Well I'm here to tell you all I survived the Great Tomato Rush of all time!  Yep sure did and I stood before all those tomatoes and conquered them all by myself.  Oh I tried to find someone to help me but my calls for help went unnoticed.  Oh well when winter comes and I am all curled up with a good book to read, sipping on my corn and tomato soup don't be surprised if I don't share!  lol  Oh it was a touch and go situation there at one time, we really thought the tomatoes were reproducing themselves while we all slept the night away.  Several times at night I swear they appeared to be laughing at me from the dining room......but I conquered them!  I canned every stinking tomato in this house.....except three....I left them for tomato sandwiches...love my mater sandwiches!

Anywho, I ended up with 38 qts. of tomatoes and 22 pints of some of the best salsa I've ever eaten.  Even though I am dog tired and can hardly put my thoughts together tonight I thought I would put some of the things I have been thinking about as I stood before my kitchen window peeling, de seeding and chopping all those dang tomatoes.....

Did you know that tomatoes are good for your skin?  Did you know that the acid is so strong it eats thru your gloves?  Well it does or rather it did 4 pairs of mine and guess what?  My hands are looking good folks!  Who would have thought tomato acid would heal my poor hands....NO I AM NOT GOING TO PEEL 2 BUSHELS OF TOMATOES EVERYDAY.  I may be crazy, insane or whatever but I ain't no sick fool.....besides did I tell you how bad my feet hurt????

All this canning I've done lately has brought out a lot of memories of my childhood summers.  Summers spent around the kitchen and our garden.  I remember spending countless hours working in the garden with my family only to enjoy the benefits of such work in the winter.  I remember one summer the Cucumber Gods smiled down upon us kids.  We loved sour pickles growing up!)  We had so many cucumbers that year that we canned 100 quarts of sour pickles alone!  I don't remember how many of the other kinds of pickles but I do remember the sour ones! lol  My daddy built shelves all over the house trying to find places to store our bounty from that garden.  My parents would enter the garden dragging #3 tubs (extremely large wash tubs) behind them and the rest of us carrying two buckets a piece.  We would almost always leave with everything over flowing.  I think that was the bumper crop to beat all years.  Canning these last few days I thought about my mama and how she worked so hard in that kitchen.  Without air conditioning too!  If the soil here wasn't so poor I would have a garden.  However, the Indians were right, this is not land fit for growning.  The soil is too sandy.  It's really depressing and if you are just wanting to throw your money away you are welcome to come over and try!  I on the other hand would just rather buy my produce from the farmers market.  Easier for me.

Found a great recipe on here from another blogspot.com user.  This is a recipe for salsa.  It is killer!  We love it!  Hope y'all do too.  If you get a chance check the blog out.  Just go to my profile on here and you will see who I follow.  Actually there are two really good ones I follow, one is about Ontario living which is where I found this recipe and the other is about food storage and glutton free living.  Check them out you are sure to find something you will love! 

Killer Salsa
8qts tomatos peeled, cored, quartered, de-seeded and coarsely chopped.
pickling salt
1 lb jalapeno peppers deseeded and coarsely chopped
1/2 lb. banana peppers deseeded and coarsely chopped
2 1/2 cups of cilantro chopped
1 glove minced garlic
1 6oz can of tomato paste
6 med onions chopped coarsely
1/4 cup cumin

Layer tomatoes in large colander with pickling salt sprinkled between layers sit aside and cover allow to sit over night.  Next morning combine all ingredients in a large pot.  Add tomatoes last.  Add water to the pot till you see the water about 2 qts. Bring to a boil.  Take out one cup and mix tomato sauce with water.  Add back to salsa.  Bring to a boil again.  Spoon into jars and top each jar with 3 teaspoons of lime juice.  Use two part lid to close.  Place in hot water canner bring to a boil and boil for 25 min for pints and 30minutes for quarts.  Listen for pling!  You know it's sealed!  I suggest you work with someone it is a very tedious recipe to follow and will take you several hours to complete if not all day.  Also wear gloves when handling peppers, they are very unforgiving if you have a sore or cut on your hands.

I also canned a few other things such as squash and strawberry jam.  Used an old recipe of my mother's for Chow Chow.  When you work with your hands it gives your mind a chance to rest and reflect on your thoughts.  You have time to allow your mind to wander.  As I chopped all that cabbage needed for the recipe, I could almost see my father with his sleeves rolled up chopping in a beat up metal bowl.  Down would come  the blade, chop and twist, up and down, chop and twist, always twisting his wrist when blade met the cabbage.  Setting up a rhythm as he went about the task.   My aunts would be packing jars for kraut while over in the corner Mama and Grandma were making the Chow Chow that I now make alone.   My kitchen was a lonely place for me to work.  I had no one to share the experience of canning.  You see  canning is not just hard work, it's also love, laughter, gossip, tears......it's everything!  Why back in the "good ole days"  women in the family would get together and go from house to house canning.  Everyone had huge gardens in those days.  Heck, everyone had huge families in those days how else could they feed them but to have a huge garden?  So the sisters would band together and go from house to house until everyone's canning was done for the year.  They shared everything together.  The stories coming out of those kitchens were quite entertaining to say the least.  It was what it was.  Here is my mama's Chow Chow recipe:

Chow Chow
2 large heads of Cabbage chopped
4 hot peppers
4 banana peppers
4large green tomatoes
3large onions
3 cups sugar
5 tablespoons of pickling salt
4 tablespoons of mustard seed
3 cups vinegar

Chop every thing mix well let stand over night.  Then pack into own juice in pint size jars.  Place in hot water canner bring to boil.  Allow to boil for 15 min.  Boil for 20 for quart jars.  Enjoy on hotdogs, hamburgers, beans or just right out of the jar! It's a great relish!


You know I can remember having a choice of playing outside in the 100 degree weather or being able to sit inside and watch tv if I shell butter beans....well inside there was A/C....ok inside it is.....I was always glad to see my bowl full and proud too.  I have had "city folk" tell me that it was cruel for my family to make us work like that as children.  All I can do is laugh.  Cruel?  You have got to be kidding me!  You know it wasn't that my parents were using us as work horses.  Not by a long shot.  It wasn't that we were made to sit outside all day with no way in either.  It wasn't like that, never was.  You see in the south flies just seem to congregate outside the any door that even remotely looks like it wants to open.  And if the even smell a hint of canning going on they invite their cousins even the 5th cousin 4 times removed from 8 counties away to come over for a buzz by.....so you guessed it!  It was really "sit down, take this bowl and shell or go outside and play but you ain't gonna run in and out of this house all day letting flies in" kinda day! lol  I wonder how many of those "city folk" could survive with out "store bought" food? 

If the weather had been kinder to us this year I would have been able to put up more food stuff however it looks like I will not be able to put up any corn or green beans,  my favorite veggies of course! lol  I will however be able in the fall to travel once more to my cousin's home in South Carolina and chop kraut with her.  It is always a joy to be with her and work side by side.  She is an easy person to work with she too remembers how the old ways were.  With only a son and two grandsons to teach the art of canning, she has turned more to my side of the family.  We get together a couple of times a year to preserve food, fish, or just plain bond.  Bonding is good to you know.

My baby girl has been moping around here for several days now, actually for 3 weeks and counting!  Her boy friend of almost 2 years left the day before the 4th of July for Afghanistan.  Although we know he won't be back before his birthday in January we can always hope he comes home early.  We miss him every day   He is the finest Marine I have ever met.  I would say he is what all Marines should strive to be, he is honest , brave, attentive to detail and extremely honorable.  Semper Fi Wooo Raahhh     Hope I spelled that right! 

My Wayfaring Son you remember him right?  He used to be the Chosen One?  Ok good glad to see you do remember him!    Well it looks like he is moving to Rhode Island this fall.  I'm sad to see him leave this area but then he has been gone all year hasn't he? lol  One of our adoptive sons is already living up there and he is so homesick I'm sure the two of them together will be good.  Let's hope they can be good for each other! 

Every day that I stood at my kitchen window I had to look at my beautifully clear pool.  It just glistened as if it were calling to me.  Come, it would say, come and swim with me.  But alas I could not.  I had work that needed to be done.  Work first then play that's what my parents taught me.  lol  So finally at 3:15 today I finish the 38th qt. of tomatoes.  Wooo Hooo   I shut down the kitchen!  Threw the dirty towels in the washer, and turned on the dishwasher.  Slipped on a bathing suit, grabbed a towel and headed out the back door but not before I opened up a daiquiri to go!  Grabbed my favorite float and jumped in the blessed pool!  Ahhhh the pool finally I got to get in the pool and wouldn't you know it?  Thunder.......yeah......thunder......oh well there's always tomorrow.  Well at least we got 1/10 in of rain every little bit helps!

Well I'm off to bed.  Off to get the rest I so badly need after all the work I've done!  Y'all have a great night and I'll catch up with you later.  Good Night Betty!

1 comment:

  1. Donna, as usual, great story. Don't worry our mom's made us choose outside or inside. Don't be tracking no dirt or flies in! Ya know, we didn't want to come in. We loved playing out. Mom would yell when if was lunch (dinner) and we would come running. Then out again we would go until supper was ready. Ahh the good ole days with no electronics between our hands...

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