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Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Covid Journal, Day 139: Tomato Time

67 this morning, a light shower then cool and hazy. Never made it to 80 all day, and not too humid, a real treat.

This morning we were out early to pick tomatoes at a local farm. Came home with five bushels, enough to keep us busy all afternoon and probably half of tomorrow. We're making all of these into tomato juice, which we love, because we have plenty of whole tomatoes, salsa and pasta sauce already. 

These are tomorrow's work.


And one of the many pots today, cooked down and ready for the Squeezo.


The day's work done, and then all the cleanup to do--my least favorite part. This is one of three Squeezo's or Victorio's we own. I cannot remember how I ended up with three, but oh well. There is really nothing like them for tomatoes and applesauce.


We had a brief visit with my son Derek and his daughter and grandson on the way home, then this evening some neighbors came over bringing a gift of food--a favor we returned by giving them corn and cucumbers. I love this time of year, with such a bounty of food to share.

And today was Zoom poetry workshop too, so I got to see other friends as we shared and worked on our work. What pleasure this gives me. This group keeps me motivated to write, and I find myself challenged to try to be a better write because of them. They are all better poets than I will ever be, but I am learning a great deal from them, and they are so generous with their time and input. The best part? I get to read and hear them read their poems. Bliss.

Tomorrow another visit as the friend who bought the Sellers cabinet will be coming to pick it up. We'll share lunch with her and her son, all part of business, of course. Have I said how much I like this time of year? Well, especially since it's no longer July 😊

So a nice day today even if we did work pretty hard, and another one coming up tomorrow. Life is good.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

8 comments:

  1. I love tomatoes but didn't get around to growing any this year. That third picture looks like a scene from a particularly gory murder movie!

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    Replies
    1. John, I thought the same thing. Time to call in forensics.

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  2. Does that contraption separate the seeds from the rest of the tomato? I would love something like that. I don't have ripe tomatoes yet, but lots of promising green ones. -Jenn

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    1. Yes, it separates seeds and skins. And with apples, also the cores. I just quarter apples, cook til soft and run them through. With tomatoes, halve or quarter depending on the size, cook til soft, and same thing. I can do a bushel of apples through it in about 15 minutes, tomatoes are even faster.

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  3. That's quite the operation you have there. I love tomatoes but we didn't grow them this year. That does look like a gory murder scene. :)

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  4. Hmmm, I've always quartered the tomatoes run them through the Squeezo uncooked. Then I cook the juice before putting in jars to can. Seems to work and is one less step. Anything to make the job easier!!

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    Replies
    1. I have tried that, but found I get a lot more of the pulp off the skins this way. And they run through the Squeezo fast-fast. I suppose either method is fine.

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  5. Wow, that's quite a gather of tomatoes you've got there! I didn't plant any this year, because I haven't been to the usual places where I buy plants: library plant sale, feed store, farmers market.
    Susanne, I hope your son and his family are doing alright? I've been thinking about them every day.

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