Monday, August 21, 2023

Roasted Tomato Sauce Preservation the EASY Way!

 It’s that wonderful time of year, when we are beyond the scorching hot days of our summer and we’ve settled into the 90s. This is also the time when tomatoes come on with a fury! If you’ve planted many varieties, as so many of us do, then it’s almost a sprint to keep up with the daily harvest. As an advanced Master Gardener and advanced Master Food Safety Advisor with the University of Idaho Extension program, I’m always looking for the quick and easy way to use what comes from my garden.

I’ve grown it. Now…what? Many years ago, I made and water bath canned my own tomato sauce. It was a lot of work. Since then, I’ve procured the mother of all freezers and now, what I would have canned years ago, I freeze. This way, I have the fresh taste of my garden, all year round. And, the bonus is, I know exactly what goes into what I freeze.

Making and freezing the sauce begins as soon as I have enough tomatoes for a batch. You can use any variety and any size of tomato. I’ll wash, core and quarter the big ones. The Sun Sugar cherry tomatoes, (that I’m so fond of) go into this procedure, whole.

I have peeled garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper at hand. Often, I’ll tuck basil leaves under the tomatoes, if my plan is to make the base for a drop-dead-delicious marinara sauce.

red/yellow tomatoes in roasting panI’ll use a small pan, if I have a smaller batch. I’ll save energy and roast the tomatoes in my toaster oven. Conversely, I’ll use a large restaurant size pan when roasting in my larger, convection oven.
Once I’ve filled the pan with tomatoes, garlic and (sometimes) basil, I drizzle a very conservative amount of olive oil on top. This year, I’ll use a pump atomizer to coat the ingredients with oil, I think it will be more effective and cut down on the amount of oil used. If you use fresh basil, tuck it under the tomatoes, as it can tend to burn during the roasting process.

I pop the entire pan into a preheated, 400° oven and set a timer for 20-minutes. I use this time to revel in the glory of the smells that come from the oven…even opening a window to entice neighbors. I will also tidy my work space during the roasting time. After 20 minutes, I check for signs of roasting. Look for small char marks on the tomatoes and garlic. Check for tenderness in the tomatoes.

mesh sieve with red tomato pureeNow, I’m in the home stretch! After removing the pan from the oven and letting it cool to touch, I’ll put the contents of it in my blender. I whiz it until it’s pureed.
The next step is not entirely necessary. But, I do it to achieve a velvety smooth consistency. I pour the mixture through a wider gauge strainer to catch any seed or skins that didn’t get blended. This step really does kick it up a notch in terms of quality. Because the skin stayed on the tomatoes during the entire process, there are still plenty of vitamins in the sauce.
I put my sauce in freezer-safe containers with ½ inch head space (for possible freezing expansion), and I label EXACTLY what I added to the mix. This way, I know if I’ll use the sauce for stews, chili, Italian or Mexican recipes. Plus, nothing goes in my freezer without a date. Try to use the sauce within a year’s time.  
The quality of the sauce really holds up with this procedure. The other night, I made homemade pizza. The container I thawed (from my 2016 harvest) was a bit thin for pizza sauce. I simply put the contents in a saucepan and added a small amount of cornstarch. In minutes, I had thick, delicious homemade pizza sauce. The results were delectable!

Friday, August 4, 2023

Let my kids help in the garden? Why not?

Share your love and passion for gardening with your kids by bringing them into the garden to discover the pleasure of growing food. Gardening may be the solution for parents struggling to find ways to encourage their kids to eat a healthy and balanced diet. Allowing your child to pick fresh produce from your garden will increase their desire to eat fresh vegetables. Tomatoes warm from the sun are delicious. My son loved green onions and once harvested and ate an entire row! Fresh peas are so delicious.
 
Give them a small piece of ground that is their own, along with gardening tools and gloves. Provide instruction on how to plant seeds and plants. Show them the flowers, bugs, worms, and growing plants. Let them dig a hole and plant something!

Show your child the difference between weeds and plants, pull and cultivate weeds, water, fertilize and care for their plants. Don’t forget to show them the importance of bugs in the ecology of gardening. Observe the bees and teach them about making honey and pollination of plants.

Kids who participated in gardening projects scored higher in science achievement than those who did not. Seeing a garden grow may spark your kids to ask questions like: Why do the plants need sun? How does the plant “drink” water? Why are worms good for the plants? Why are spiders needed in the garden? The questions your kids will ask will provide plenty of subjects for discussion.