Rufus & Clementinedivining sumptuous life…

oh, i like this…

I’m canning on the road this month.  I packed up some *new* jars, the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving from LAPL, a small bottle of commercial lemon juice and headed to West Hollywood.

I was really excited that this month’s produce coincided with my trip across town to Chez P+K.  It’s the first time I’ve gotten a chance to put up something homegrown from the backyard.  The backyard on the other side of the kitchen window.  Pam’s plants were producing aplenty.  I was all giddy knowing that she was setting aside some freshly plucked off the vine for me.  And my goodness, they were beautiful .

Oh, yeah.  I have new jars.  Non-Weck jars.  Surprise.  I knew that I wanted to can some of Pam’s tomatoes and leave them as a gift.  So, just to be super safe, I thought it might be a good move on my part to expand my jar-i-sphere.

I’d been looking through lots of canning books for recipes.  Simple, easy, SIMPLE recipes.  I really got into the Ball section on tomatoes.  I appreciated that the hefty section had the recipes separated by process, water-bath and pressure canner.  Thoughtfully explaining the use of commercial lemon juice to ensure proper acidity for water-bath canning, as well as, talking about all that separation anxiety.  It made me feel really confident and comfortable about what has probably been my easiest canning experience to date.

By now, you should know my middle name is “Can’t-Leave-Well-Enough-Alone.”  I did go off-book adding a fresh herb instead of the dried used in the Herbed Tomato recipes a few pages later.

Tomatoes Packed in Water

Umm, from the Ball Book…

Tomatoes
Commercial Lemon Juice
Kosher Salt

Prep your canner and sterilize your jars.
Wash those pretty tomatoes.
Set a pot of water to boil.  Set up a bowl of ice water.
Working in small batches, make a small X in the bottom of the tomatoes.  Put them in the boiling water for 30-60 seconds or until the skin starts to crack.
Place the tomatoes in the ice bath and peel off the skin.
Core the tomatoes.  You can leave them whole, halve or quarter them.
In a non-reactive pot/saucepan, add a layer of tomatoes.  Just cover with water.
Bring to a boil over medium-ish high heat.
When it begins to boil, lower temperature and cook for 5 minutes.
In the quart jars, place 2 tablespoons of commercial lemon juice. 1 teaspoon of salt.
In pint jars, add 1 tablespoon of commercial lemon juice and ½ teaspoon of salt.
Fill jars.  Use cooking water to top off tomatoes.  Leave a ½ inch of headspace.
Process 40 minutes for pints, 45 for quarts.

TheNikkiBits: So, yeah.  CLWEA added fresh basil and crushed red pepper to one quart of the tomatoes with the lemon juice and salt.  The other quart got ½ teaspoon of both ground cumin and coriander.  From a bottle.  Not my first choice, but hey I wasn’t at home and I was feeling inspired.  I threw in a few black peppercorns, as well.  I had some left over cooking water.  By itself, it was AMAzing.  Fragrant, with a surprising depth.  Used it to fill out my go-to tomato and goat cheese pasta sauce.

What’sNext: Okay.  I really want it to be winter.  But, wait.  I need put up lots more jars of tomatoes, first.  I can’t wait to get home and put cumin seeds in the mortar and pestle.  I want to make chili and curries and MMMmmm…  Wow. I’m hungry and excited.  First, though, I’m going to put up a couple of quarts of tomatoes for Pam.  Simple and Plain.  CLWEA is going to be locked in a room somewhere.

While everything else we’ve done, during Tigress’ Can Jam this year, has been a fun and tasty learning experience, this really has been the month that makes better something I already do as opposed to hipping me to something new.  Ummm, Tinned Tomatoes.  See Ya!

My birthday is quickly approaching.  I think I need a food mill.  Hmmmm.  Mommy!

Nikki♥

LAPL – Los Angeles Public Library… I ♥ that place, hardcore.