Eat Veggies, save the planet

My gardening friend Jerry says he has the time but not the know how to can so I am posting this for him. I also told him to get a ball canning book and just follow their directions. Anyway this is how I do it. Funky but oh so delicious. I mix orange, yellow , green and red tomatoes in my sauce.  I use whatever is ripe from the garden.

First I get out everything I need.

• canner
• 7 pints or 7 quarts
• slotted spoon
• canning funnel
• lids and bands
• wooden spoon
• ladle
• canning tongs
• one 4 quart pot
• one heavy duty 6 quart pot
• one stainless frying pan 9 inches
• one stainless frying pan 6 inches
• 4 trays of ice
• 14-21 ponds of ripe tomatoes
• a bunch of basil
• a head of garlic

Then I begin.

1. I weigh out my tomatoes.  Three pounds make one quart or 2 pints.
2. I put water to boil in the 4 quart pot
3. Fill the sink with water and add ice.
4. When water comes to a boil put in tomatoes and let them boil for 2 minutes to loosen skins.
5. Take out with slotted sppon into large frying pan and dump in ice water to cool.
6. Put 6 qt pot nearby.
7. Decore tomatoes and take off skins.
8. Cut nude tomatoes into chunks and put in 6 qt pot.
9. Repeat steps 4-8 until all the tomatoes are in the pot.
10. Fill canner with water and turn on high.
11. Put tomatoes on the stove and turn to high
12. Add 8 or so cloves garlic, 2 handfuls of garlic and  1 TBSP of salt to the tomatoes. Taste.
13. Bring to a boil, turn down and let simmer for 15 minutes or so
14. Put lids in hot water in small frying pan to soften.
15. Dip clean jars in hot canner water to semisterilize.
16. fFll jars leaving 1 inch air space on top.
17. Wipe tops with wet towel, put on lids and screw on bands.
18. Set jars  on canner rack and immerse in the water.
19. Bring to a boil and  leave at a rolling boil for 35 minutes for pints and 45 minutes for quarts.
20. Lift cans with rack. Let sit for a minute and then remove to counter with canning tongs.
21. Let sit for 24 hours.
22. Unscrew bands, label and date with permanent marker, wash off if necessary and put away for the winter.

My rhubarb is gone! In Texas it is an anuual and the heat has taken it out.

but lucky for me I froze some before it wilted and disappeared

Some I froze by just cutting in one inch chunks and putting in quart freezer bags. This works according to the books. I guess there are no enzymes to destroy>

Here is how I froze the rest.

1. Wash rhubarb after removing poisonous leaves.
2. Cut in 1 inch chunks.
3. Put 4 cups of rhubarb, 1/8 cup water and 2 TBSP of sugar in a small saucepan.
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Lower heatand simmer for 2 minutes.
6. Put in 1 qt freezer container without lid and cool in freezer
7. Put on lid when cooled down a bit and freeze.

We ate spinach all winter by clipping off the outer leaves. Now spring has arrived and the spinach is enormous, so time to freeze. So far I have put up 12 quarts and my freezer is full. So that will have to do…

It is amazing how spinach cooks down. If I come home with a big grocery bag full from the garden, I manage to freeze approximately 3 quarts.

1. Harvest spinach
2. Wash leaves and trim stems
3. Heat a very large pot of water to a boil
4. Fill clean sink with icy water.
5. Add about 2 colanders full of spinach leaves packed to boiling water.
6. Stir once turn on timer for 2 minutes  and stir again.
7. When timer goes off take spinach out of pot with tongs.
8. Drain lightly and add to sink.
9. Put 2 more colanders in boiling water and put on timer.
10. Stir spinach in sink, take out with tongs and put  into a colander and let drain.
11. Take 2nd batch out of pot with tongs, drain and chill in icy water sink.
12. Put  drained spinach in colander into a 4 cup container.
13. Put these 4 cups in a labeled 1 qt zipper freezer bag with “Spinach and date.:
14. Take out air and lay flat in freezer to freeze quickly.
15. Repeat …