All In The Family Tomato-Basil Sauce

Labor Day weekend on utter impulse, I brought home 40# of tomatoes from the Geneva Green Market. A deal I couldn't pass up and a chance to do a little sauce making. I do a lot of canning but have never done any sort of tomato preservation beyond freezing and oven drying. Now I had my opportunity - a heavy opportunity.


What began as a solitary endeavor soon became a family project much to my relief. Everyone pitched in cross-hatching, blanching and peeling.


Even Cousin Lauren, staying with us for the weekend was forced into service. Thank you, Lauren!


I am not such a task master - rest assured there was lots of fooling around...


Eventually peeled tomatoes surpassed unpeeled and we were able to get cooking.


I sauteed onions, LOTS of fresh local garlic (you really must track some down before it's too late.) And a good dose of red wine and the tomatoes.


I decided two use to pans (of completely different type) to facilitate the cooking. They bubbled for a good long while.


Still having a love affair with my basic model food mill, with Jake's help I was able to puree it all to a moderately smooth texture before returning it to the stove to further reduce and develop great flavor. At the end of the cooking time, I added generous handfuls of chiffonade of basil from my garden.


Ultimately, we wound up with 6 1/2 quarts of sauce from what I guessed to be about 30# of tomatoes. Another 5# pounds became grill roasted salsa a la Doug and the balance was roasted with onions and garlic to be pureed into soup on an overly busy, cold day.


Don't they look lovely?


I did can the sauce in a hot water bath per the cookbook's instructions and meticulously followed the bible of canning, The Blue Ball Book. I've read that it's difficult to can safe tomato sauce but Williams-Sonoma said I could. They can't be wrong, right?

Tomato-Basil Sauce
from The Art of Preserving by Rick Field and Rebecca Courchesne

1 T. olive oil
4 yellow onions, coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
10# tomatoes, cut into chunks (I chose to peel them, too)
1/2 cup dry red wine, optional (come on!)
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (I chose to use bottled lemon juice to ensure the proper acidity level)
1 1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground pepper

Have ready hot, clean jars and their lids. (consult the Ball sight for specific instructions, if needed.)

In a large non-reactive saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add theonions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring 2 minutes longer

Add the tomatoes and wine, if using. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncoverd stiring occasionally, until reduced by half, about 1 hour.

Pass the tomato mixture through a food mill or coarse-mesh sieve over a clean, large nonreactive sauce pan. Gring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to mediucm-low and simmer until the sauce reaches the desired consistnecy. Stir in the basi, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Tast the sauce and adjust the seasonings.

Ladle the hot sauce into the jars, leaving 1/4" of headspace. Remove any air bubbles and adjust the headspace, if necessary. Wipe the rims clean and seal tightly with the lids.

Process the jars for 30 minutes in a boil water bath. (again, check the Blue sight for specific instructions, if needed) The sealed jars can be store in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year. If a seal has failed store the jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Yield: 6) one pint jars

Are You Crazy, Too? and My First Giveaway!

If you are kind enough to read my humble blog you may have realized that I have a propensity for doing things the hard way. As one man's trash is another man's treasure, one woman's joy is another woman's worst nightmare. Some people think I am crazy.

I love food projects. What is a food project you may wonder? For me it's fun things like making marshmallows or egg noodles. Family collaborations like our house cured bacon, tomato basil sauce and The Ultimate Burger Project of 2009. Adventures in olive curing. Oooooo, cheese making.

I want to share my joy with you and make you a fellow crazy. To get you started I am excited to do my first giveaway. Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It and Other Cooking Projects by Karen Solomon. Yaaaayyyyyy!

Leave a comment or just say hello within the week. Next Saturday, given my limited computer skills, I'll draw a name out of a Trader Joe's bag.


Wouldn't you love to have this book?

Welcome to Crazy Town.

So True....

"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
Benjamin Franklin

Happy Friday!

Putting Up

I haven't posted anything in awhile. That makes me sad. I have, however, been very busy stocking the shelves and want to share.

Canning, preserving, putting up, putting by. Whatever you choose to call it, I love it. It meshes perfectly with my compulsive tendencies. You didn't realize I tend to be compulsive?

It started, as it does every season with the Smitten Kitchen pickled sugar snaps. A quick pickle that doesn't stick around long here. While I didn't process them, I think they looked super cute in the fridge in this glass jar.

Every spring there are lots of garlic scapes at the market. The stem and flower of hard neck garlic, they're so tasty. Last year I made pesto with them. A bright spring green with a mellow garlic flavor. Lovely. This year I pickled them.


I also made sweet pickled wax beans. There was recipe in the Everyday Food that caught my eye. I only made two pints worth and have yet to taste them since they need to cure. How can any pickled be bad?


Nice cutting board you say? Jake made it for me.


Pickles. Pretty much the only wildly successful aspect of my garden. Needless to say, I've made lots and lots of pickles this year.The old stand-bys and....

...my first batch of bread and butter pickles. Extra onions. Lucky for me, I am the only one that eats these.


Mixed berry jam. It's delicious and will be an extra special treat in January.

There is also jalapeno jelly, the apricot selection, hot and mild salsa. Grape juice from my vines is waiting to be turned into jelly, garden beets to pickle and a bunches of peaches to that will become...something. Autumn raspberries are ready to be picked, too.


And then there are tomatoes. A local farm had a sale on tomatoes. Can you imagine my good fortune? I made lots of things with these wonderful heirloom varieties. I need to share the tomato-basil sauce that started with an impulse buy of 40# of romas. That's a story for another time.


I turned those gorgeous tomatoes into Spicy Tomato Jam. If your tomatoes are fabulous or your market is overflowing, you really must try it on a panini or as an accompaniment to a cheese plate. I promise you'll love it.

Spicy Tomato Jam
based upon the recipe from Farm To Fork by Emeril Lagasse.

4 cups seeded and chopped ripe tomatoes (about 2 1/2-3#)
I did not peel them. Heirloom skins are so thin they aren't noticeable & added nice texture
2 lemons skins peeled away entirely, seeds removed and flesh finely chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 generous T. fresh ginger
1/2 t. crushed red pepper
1/2 t. salt

Combine all the ingredients in a preserving pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a brisk simmer and continue to cook, periodically skimming any foam that develops on the surface. Stir frequently until a think jam-like consistency is achieved. This may take 35-45 minutes. Be sure to stir constantly in last ten minutes to ensure jam doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan.

Transfer the hot jam to hot sterilized jars leaving 1/2" head space, release any air bubbles by running a skewer around the sides of the jar, wipe the rims clean and attach the lids and rings.
Process in a hot water bath for 230 minutes.

Remove from hot water bath and allow to rest on the counter, undisturbed until completely cool.

A full tank of gas, new book of stamps and food in jars. What more can you want?

I Say Heirloom Tom-aahhh-to!

A few posts ago I lamented my tomato situation. Big beautiful plants, slowly succumbing to blight. Huge green fruit, full of promise refusing to turn the rosy pink or brilliant green and yellow they are intended to be.

Faced with the prospect of no tomatoes in January, imagine how thrilled I was to get an email announcing the TOMATO SALE, at a local farm, Heritage Prairie Farm. Someone up there, somewhere is looking out for me.

Grab your apron, we're making Spicy Tomato Jam.


I've made this recipe twice. The first time for a canning class I taught. I used all red tomatoes since I wanted the acid they provide and it was wonderful. The second time around, based upon availability I used a selection of red, yellow and green.


This recipe is from Farm to Fork by Emeril Lagasse. Not usually a fan of the "bam" man, I admit, I LOVE this cookbook. So much so in fact that I keep renewing it's library status, hogging it from others. Maybe I should just buy it.

Lots of tomatoes, fresh ginger, two whole lemons and a bit of spice thrown in a pan to cook.


Heirloom tomatoes are sometimes called ugly. I think they are what a real tomato should look like. Somehow, even a homegrown hybrid just looks.....fake?


I like to use my 10 quart Calphalon pot for preserving. It's broad across the top to allow for evaporation, key when making jam -especially with juicy fruits.


I usually like to use a thermometer for jam, just to make sure I don't over cook it. In the case of this recipe, it's really not necessary. The directions suggest stirring often in the last 10 minutes of cooking which is really important. Stirring with a silicone spatula will make it obvious when the proper consistency has been reached.


I found it delicious directly off the spoon. That said, the possibilities with this are endless - bruschetta, grilled meets, cheese platters, sandwiches and panini. What more could you want out of a jam?

Spicy Tomato Jam
adapted from Farm to Fork by Emeril Lagasse

4 (about 2 1/2-3#) cups peeled, seeded, and chopped ripe tomatoes - I suggest all heirlooms and no paste tomatoes. I didn't peel the tomatoes and found the thin heirloom skins weren't noticeable)
2 lemons, peel cut entirely away and discarded, seeds, removed, flesh finely chopped (I tried to remove some of the tougher segments)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 T. minced fresh ginger (I used the microplane and added a touch more the second time around)
1/2 t. crushed red pepper (adds the prefect bit of heat - don't be tempted to skip it!)
2 pinches salt

Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a brisk simmer and continue to cook, periodically skimming off any foam that forms on the surface and stirring frequently, until a thick, jamlike consistency is achieved and most of the liquid has evaporated, 30-35 minutes. (Stir more frequently during the last 10 minutes so the jam does not burn on the bottom of the pan)

Transfer the jam to hot sterilized jars, filling the jars to within 1/2" from the top and attach the lids and rings. (At this point you may process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes to make the jars shelf stable. Check this website for canning basics if you've never canned before)

Once they have cooled, store the jars in the refrigerator for up to 4 months. (Alternatively, place the jam in covered non-reactive containers and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Yield: 1 generous pint, 2 8oz. jars

Time For Bed

A twist on through the screen door....

The girls have become very good at putting themselves to bed - with the exception of Little Lily.
She perches on the family room picture window to tell us it's time.


She likes to be tucked in.

Preservation of Childhood

Preserving Children

Take one large grassy field, one half dozen children,
three small dogs, and walk along a narrow strip of brook,
pebbly if possible.

Mix the children with dogs, and empty them into the field,
stirring constantly.

Sprinkle the entire with daisies and buttercups,
pour brook gently over pebbles
and cover all with a deep blue sky
and bake in hot sun for several hours.

When children are thoroughly browned they may be removed.

They will be found right and ready for setting away to cool in the bathtub.

Mrs. Estes
Buck's County (Pennsylvania) Cookbook
1950