You Say Tomato, I say Effing Awesome.

This is the latest batch of garden goodness:

Almost 100% homegrown Tomato Soup.  Heat up the cast iron, slather some butter on the pan, shove some cheese between two pieces of bread, toast, and dunk.  Little Winger LOVES grilled cheese, and he gets pissed when we try to sneak something besides cheese into them.  Tomato soup is good anyway you eat it (especially homemade), but it's the best with a grilled cheese sandwich. 

This was to use up the last of Pop's tomatoes for the 2009 season.  We made out sauces, our salsas, and canned the tomatoes whole - but since I started canning on my own the last batch of tomatoes for the season always brings tomato soup.  The air is getting crispy and the nights are cold.  Sundays are once again spent watching football.  You know that Fall is right around the corner, what better way to celebrate cold weather than with tomato soup.

My Recipe this year (from mine or Pop's garden marked with an *):

3/4 Bushel of Tomatoes*

8 Cups Diced Onion*

2 Cups Diced Green Pepper*

2 Cups Diced Red Pepper*

2 Jalapeno (of course)*

4 Cups Diced Celery (Giant Eagle)

4 Cups Sliced Carrots (Farmer's Market)

2 Cloves Garlic*

5 Bay Leaves

tsp. Ground Cloves

Combine all of the above ingredients in a roaster or large stock pot and simmer until vegetables are fork tender.  Once veggies are soft, place in a blender/food processor until it reaches desired consistency (I like mine blended for approx. 30 seconds on medium speed).

Place back into cooking device and add 1 cup of Brown sugar and 1/4 Cup canning/kosher salt.  Bring to a boil stirring constantly, then reduce to a slow simmer.

Process in hot two-piece canning jars in a pressure canner.  If you have a pressure cooker like mine with the weighted pressure valve on the top, process for 20 minutes once you reach the "slow rock."  If you have a gauged pressure cooker refer to your instruction manual.

Easy as sex, and now you have soup for those blustery days during the winter months.  If you do not feel comfortable canning the soup, Mason/Ball jars can be frozen as well.  So pack them with the soup once it has cooled, leave about 1 inch of head space and stick them in the freezer.

We love this shit as you can see:

 

There is nothing more satisfying than when someone eats something you preserved and they compliment on its awesomeness.  "Whose Jalapeno Jelly is this you say?  Haha (nervous/boastful laugh).  Well yes it's mine.  (blushing, sticking chest out)  Yes I made it with my bounty of Jalapenos from my garden."  Effing AWESOME feeling.  Of course if you're new to canning be sure to follow proven recipes from credible sources because although it's simple once you have the hang of it, botulism is just effing terrible.  

 So, is all of the time and effort it takes to preserve your homegrown goodness worth the time?  Does it save you money?  Carbon Footprint?  OF COURSE. 

But that's for another post. 

We could go into far more detail about the monetary savings, the earth friendliness, and the great taste of home preserved food but this post is already too long so we'll save that for later.

The annual "pepper ring canning" is this weekend before the Steeler's game.  A good time as usual, and who doesn't love a pile of hot peppers on their hoagie or with their eggs.  Effin Eh.