Tomato Sauce & Puree
Earlier this summer our office staff member, Sarah K. gave me a book on pickling and canning for my birthday. I thought it was so thoughtful. At our office cookout a few weeks prior we showed off our bountiful vegetable garden and I gave everyone a handful of cucumbers on their way out. We probably had over 100 cucumbers this summer, and what on earth to do with them? Pickle!
I pulled out my pickling book and picked up some jars at the store and gave it a whirl. I tried dill and sweet bread and butter. The dill were definitely a little easier to make, however, I have a huge sweet tooth so the bread and butter are more for me. We made a whole shelf full of pickle jars. If they turn out well all of our relatives will be getting them for Christmas! It is time consuming but it also gave me a rewarding feeling of being resourceful and not wasteful of the nutritious crops made by the sun and the soil.
Pickles, Apple Sauce, Ketchup
In addition to pickles we also made ketchup, tomato sauce, tomato puree, and apple sauce. The tomatoes came in part from our garden and also from Flying J Farm (organic). The apples were hand pick by Jack, Greg and I at Windy Hill Apple Farm in Newark. They too are organic! We also harvested and froze broccoli, beets, and carrots from our garden.
The basics of Canning:
- Puree or prepare your food according to the recipe
- Prepare jars if necessary by boiling the jars and lids in advance
- Place the food in jars with 0.5-1.0 inches of headspace (space at the top of the jar) and cap them with the lids
- Boil for 15-30 min. depending on the acidity of the food
- Let cool, check lids for a good seal and store in a cool dry place
Lessons learned
Next year I will probably not make ketchup – it took a tremendous amount of tomatoes and time for a very small amount of ketchup. I will also plant more canning tomatoes.
for work, 
Sunday I went to my good rowing friend Heather (aka Feldmann) Strang’s baby shower. I am really excited for my friend, who with her husband, helped Greg and I meet for the first time back in college. Heather was looking beautiful and I hope she has a wonderful birthing experience. 
There are a number of ways to compost at home. There is worm composting, composte bins and what I all bare bones composting which I will explain today.
waste can be compost. Compost returns organic matter to the soil. This will provide helpful microorganisms to aerate the soil, provide essential nutrients, loosen clay soils, help sandy soils hold moisture, and enhance root penetration. You will have healthier plants and therefore cleaner air!
Most of the vendors sold organic, all-natural products!
When we got home I through the veggies in a bowl with some cooked pasta, home-made vinaigrette and Parmesan cheese for a yummy summer pasta salad, while Greg threw some chicken and burgers on the grill. It made for a nice afternoon and yummy dinner on the patio. If you would like a complete list of all vendors and produce offered at the Clintonville Farmer’s Market check out their website 
Wow, a lot has has changed for our family over the past 2 months. We searched for a new home and after many hours and tours we found a lovely little country home, with a huge back yard for Jack to run and explore – a wonderful improvement from our townhouse apartment with lots of stairs and therefore baby gates! We are finally settled (except for 1 room of boxes), after days of plumbing problems, burst pipes, flooded basement- twice, a dug up broken well, and new pipes to city water, and now finally enjoying our new space. We have planted a vegetable garden with herbs, tomatoes, spinach, several lettuce’s, beets, carrots, peas, green beans, lots of different squash, pumpkin, watermelon, corn, peppers, green onion, and eggplant (I hope I didn’t forget something)! Yes, Greg got a little out of control with the tiller, but I didn’t mind to much. We have so much yard, the garden, despite its size, hardly makes a dent. Jack just got a kiddie pool which he loves. 
Lately I’ve been posting on family updates but have drifted away from my GREEN tips and treasures.
with olive oil and heated it in a double boiler.
