My Five Favorite Ways to Preserve Tomatoes

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Dave @ HappyAcres

It’s tomato season here at Happy Acres, and I am keeping busy harvesting and processing them. I’m not complaining, since it looks to be a great year for them and last year they had lots of issues with splitting and rotting. I’ve hauled in over 70 pounds of them already, with lots more on the vines ready to ripen in the coming days and weeks. In addition to eating quite a few of them fresh, we also preserve lots of them for later use. I suspect there are other gardeners with lots of tomatoes coming in now, so here are some of my suggestions for how to deal with them all. I’m sharing five of my favorite ways to process and preserve tomatoes.

dehydrated Juliet tomatoes

dehydrated Juliet tomatoes

Dehydrating is one of my two favorite ways to preserve the smaller tomatoes, though larger ones can also be dried. Dehydrating them concentrates the flavor, and the dried tomatoes can be used as-is or rehydrated in water. I use all colors and varieties for drying, depending on what is available at the moment. Orange and yellow ones lose some of their bright color, but not their flavor. The red ones get a deeper shade of red.

dehydrating tomatoes

dehydrating tomatoes

I’m often asked about which dehydrator we have. We have been using an Excalibur dehydrator for about 10 years now and are quite pleased with it. In my experience it takes between 8-18 hours to dry the tomatoes to the desired leathery consistency, depending on the size of the tomatoes and their initial moisture content.

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

Slow-roasting is my other favorite thing to do with the small ones. Like drying, the roasting concentrates the flavor. But when roasted the tomatoes keep more of their moisture than when dried. It’s important to keep the oven heat low, around 250°F or the tomatoes will burn easily.

slow roasting tomatoes

After roasting, I freeze the tomatoes with a little olive oil added. They make a tasty addition to pizza, pasta dishes and salads.

blending tomatoes for sauce

I also turn quite a few of the tomatoes into sauce. In the past I would heat the tomatoes and then pass through a food mill to remove the skins and some of the seeds. These days, I just put them in the blender, skins and all. I do remove the cores on those that have one, but smaller plum type tomatoes like Juliet (one of my favorites) go in whole.

Vitamix Tomato Sauce

Vitamix Tomato Sauce

I cook the tomatoes down until the volume is reduced by half, which usually takes about 1 to 1-1/2 hours to make a nice thick sauce. I make most of my tomato sauce of unseasoned, with only one ingredient: tomatoes. That way it can be used in a variety of dishes, from soups and chili to enchiladas, marinara sauce and other dishes. I freeze the sauce into pint or smaller containers for later use.  I’ve never canned it so I can’t really give any details for processing it that way.

Freezer Tomato Sauce

Freezer Tomato Sauce

I also make a tomato sauce that is seasoned with onions, celery and garlic, along with a bit of sugar and salt. It can be used in any recipe calling for canned tomato sauce, though it has a much better flavor when made with ripe homegrown tomatoes!

Homemade Tomato Ketchup

Last but certainly not least, my wife and I always make a batch or two of Homemade Tomato Ketchup every year. That is a long process, and usually takes us around five hours from start to finish. It’s worth it though, because the ketchup is unlike anything you are likely to buy anywhere! The finished product is processed in a boiling water bath canner, and keeps on the shelf with good quality for at least a year.

jars of homemade ketchup

I hope you have enjoyed these ideas of how to deal with a lot of tomatoes when you have them. If you have your own favorite ways with tomatoes, I’d love to hear about them. And if you try any of my methods I’d like to hear about it too. A list of the recipes with more details follows:

  1. Dehydrating Tomatoes
  2. Slow Roasted Tomatoes
  3. Vitamix Freezer Tomato Sauce
  4. Freezer Tomato Sauce
  5. Homemade Tomato Ketchup

 

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Harvest Monday August 9, 2021

Posted on August 9, 2021 by Dave @ HappyAcres

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. It is safe to say the tomatoes are really rolling in now. I’ve harvested 50 pounds of them already this year, and the vines are still loaded with ripening fruit. Other harvests now include plenty of eggplant, plus a few of the early maturing the winter squashes. It looks like it is going to be a good year for tomatoes here, in contrast to last year when they had a lot of issues and the yields were way down. I use a lot for processing so it is fairly easy to make them disappear!

typical August harvest

tomatoes for sauce

tomatoes and squash

Benevento is a new red beefsteak tomato from Artisan Seeds that has yellow stripes and keeps well both on and off the vines. It’s my first time growing it, and so far it has been productive.

Benevento tomatoes

My wife and I do a lot of tomato tasting when we have them. They also appear often on sandwiches and as a side dish. One day we compared Chef’s Choice Red and Damsel. While there were subtle differences in flavor, we liked them both and couldn’t really pick one over the other. Both do well here for me, and Damsel has the bonus of being resistant to late blight. Blight isn’t yet an issue for me, but I fear it will be someday so it is good to have resistant varieties at the ready.

Chef’s Choice Red(L) and Damsel(R) tomatoes

Tropical Sunset is another new tomato I’m growing for the first time. The ping pong ball sized fruits are sweet and tasty, and so far splitting has not been a problem with them. I have eaten quite a few right out in the garden, which is always a sign of a good tasting variety. It is visually pretty too, so to paraphrase Bill Murray in Caddyshack, it’s got that going for it too!

Tropical Sunset tomatoes

Last week I roasted one of the Goldilocks acorn squash in a cast iron skillet, and it was tasty prepared that way. This 2021 AAS Winner has been very productive for me, and I look forward to eating more of them this year and to growing it again next year.

roasted Goldilocks squash

With all the tomatoes coming in now, it was time to start processing them. Ketchup making is an annual event here, and since it takes around five hours from start to finish my wife and I both work on it together. For this batch, about nine pounds of paste type tomatoes made 8 half pint jars of finished ketchup. We plan on making another batch this week, which should keep us supplied for a year or so. I also used about eight pounds of the paste tomatoes to make a batch of Freezer Tomato Sauce. This is a seasoned sauce, with added onion, celery and garlic. I plan to make unseasoned sauce with more of the tomatoes as soon as we have them, and if I have enough tomatoes I want to make tomato paste too.

cooking the ketchup

finished jars of ketchup

Harvest Monday is a day to show off your harvests, how you are saving your harvest, or how you are using your harvest. If you have a harvest you want to share, add your name and blog link to Mr Linky below. And be sure and check out what everyone is harvesting!


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Photo Friday: Blooms and Butterflies

Posted on August 6, 2021 by Dave @ HappyAcres

We have lots of plants blooming now in our gardens, and butterflies are a frequent visitor to them. Zinnias are typically a butterfly magnet, and their cheery blooms add bright summer color to the garden. Profusion Red Yellow Bicolor Zinnia is a 2021 AAS Winner that grows about a foot tall and is covered in two inch golden yellow flowers that have a red center ring. As the blooms age, they turn to shades of  apricot, pink and rose which makes for a stunning display. I have the plants growing in containers where they are attracting butterflies, especially the swallowtails.

swallowtail on zinnia

The flowering alliums may not be quite as showy as the zinnias, but butterflies and pollinators alike are drawn to them. We have the Millenium Allium planted in several spots, and they are a trouble-free plant that blooms in mid summer with globe shaped pink-purple  flowers. I spied two swallowtails on one plant last week, sipping on the nectar.

butterflies on Millenium allium

The purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is another perennial flower that is a favorite of butterflies. We have the native purple one planted in several locations, as well as a few of the newer hybrids with different colored flowers. The butterflies seem to prefer the purple one though, at least in our garden. I’ve seen both swallowtails and the smaller Silver Spotted Skipper on them recently.

swallowtail butterfly on purple coneflower

skipper on coneflower

Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is an aptly named perennial that butterflies really seem to love. The same genus gives us the common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) which we have growing wild in a few spots and the swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) which we have planted but isn’t yet blooming. I also have a purple milkweed (Asclepias purpurata) planted which hasn’t started flowering yet. The whole family is a favorite of monarch butterflies, and serves as a host plant for them.

butterfly on Butterfly weed

The native Scarlet Hibiscus (Hisbicus coccineus) is really more of a plant that hummingbirds favor, but butterflies do visit the flowers. The big red blooms only last for a day, but the tall flower stalks usually have many blooms that open over a long period. The plants can get up to six feet tall or taller, but aren’t very wide so we have several planted closely together. They are common to wetlands and marshes, so they like it wet and I give them extra water during the summer months.

Scarlet Hibiscus

Another native plant that is a butterfly magnet is Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum). I’ve had this plant in the garden for many years, and it is a longtime favorite for all kinds of butterflies. Yesterday I saw a Silver Spotted Skipper methodically getting nectar from each flower. By standing still with my camera, it ignored me while I captured a number of images. I truly love seeing the butterflies on the plants in our garden since we set quite a few of them out especially for them.

Silver Spotted Skipper on Joe Pye Weed

I hope you have enjoyed this look at the blooms and butterflies in our garden. I’ll be back soon with more happenings from Happy Acres!

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Harvest Monday August 2, 2021

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Dave @ HappyAcres

It’s time once again for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. It’s hard to believe it is August already! It seems the summer has flown by quickly for me. But last week I was busy planting fall greens like collards and kale, which tells me autumn is just around the corner. The harvests say it’s still summer though, as does the heat and humidity we had most of last week. A change in weather Saturday brought a bit of cooling along, which was surely appreciated by yours truly!

late July harvest

Tomatoes are playing a starring role in the garden and kitchen now. We’ve been eating them fresh, both raw and cooked, and I have been dehydrating the smaller ones for later use. The dried tomatoes keep well in a glass jar, and I usually keep them in the freezer or a cool pantry. It won’t be long and it will be time to cook up sauce and ketchup with them.

tomato harvest

dehydrating tomatoes

The greenhouse cucumbers are slowing down but still keeping us supplied. The container eggplants are still yielding well too. I try and have a container of my Quick Refrigerator Pickles on hand whenever the cucumbers are in season.

cucumbers and eggplant

I got the first ripe Pot-a-peno peppers last week. I used one of them in a batch of Fermented Curtido, where it should add just the right amount of zip. I would rate these as about a 2 on a heat scale of 1 to 5. I tend to not grow the really hot peppers like habaneros, and most jalapenos are plenty hot for me. I have the Pot-a-peno growing in containers, and there are lots of green peppers setting on now.

ripe Pot-a-peno peppers

I made a cutting of Genovese type basil for pesto last week. I tossed the pesto with cooked farro penne, added chopped cooked chicken and some grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. In the past I’ve also made this dish with asparagus, spinach or arugula added. I don’t usually add cheese to the pesto, and for this batch I used a mild extra-virgin olive oil and some walnuts along with the basil.

basil for pesto

I harvested a few more of the Goldilocks squash. These all weighed a bit less than one pound each. The smaller size and earliness are a big asset as far as I am concerned.

Goldilocks squashes

I also cooked up the first one one night for a side dish. I cut the squash in half, scooped out the seeds and baked the halves until tender. The seed cavity is quite small, and the flesh mild and tender. Next time I want to try cutting it into slices and baking in a cast iron skillet. My wife and I both enjoyed this first one and gave it two thumbs up!

inside of Goldilocks squash

Another dish I cooked up was a Caprese Summer Squash Casserole. I spiralized one yellow squash and one green zucchini, then spread in the bottom of a baking dish. I topped that with sliced tomato, chopped basil and a drizzle of olive oil. I covered with foil and baked until tender, then added slices of fresh mozzarella cheese and put it back in the oven long enough to melt the cheese. Most recipes I saw for this dish used sliced squash, but I used the spiralizer which worked out well. The end result was quite flavorful, but a bit watery no doubt from my covering the dish and from the moisture that came out of the tomatoes. Next time I will try cooking it uncovered.

Caprese Summer Squash Casserole

I’ll close with a recent photo of baby bluebirds. The parents have been busy lately feeding these four babies in the nest box. This is the 3rd brood this year. I’ve been putting up nest boxes for almost 40 years now and I never get tired of seeing them!

baby bluebirds

Harvest Monday is a day to show off your harvests, how you are saving your harvest, or how you are using your harvest. If you have a harvest you want to share, add your name and blog link to Mr Linky below. And be sure and check out what everyone is harvesting!


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Photo Friday: Late July Blooms

Posted on July 30, 2021 by Dave @ HappyAcres

I blog here mostly about vegetables, fruit and other edibles but we also have quite a few flowering plants here at Happy Acres so I don’t want to ignore them. Earlier this month I shared photos of what was blooming then, but we have some new faces showing up here in late July. The Limelight hydrangeas are pretty much in full bloom now, and we have a large one planted at the corner of our garage. I found a swallowtail butterfly on one of the blooms one morning, soaking up some sun. I don’t believe this hydrangea is a nectar plant for them, so perhaps it was just basking in the sun to warm up.

swallowtail butterfly on hydrangea

Limelight hydrangea

I am more likely to see the butterflies feeding on the coneflowers, of which we have many. Echinacea Marcella’s Rainbow is in bloom now, and features flowers that go from orange to pink in color as they age. This is a new plant and should be stunning next year when it gets bigger.

Echinacea Rainbow Marcella

Another favorite nectar source for butterflies is the aptly named Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa). We have two of them planted, and they are a reliable performer in the garden. They are late to emerge in spring so I always mark the spot with a stake so I don’t dig around and disturb the roots inadvertently.

Butterflyweed

The Millennium allium is another trouble-free plant that is blooming now. The purple blooms are attractive to both bees and butterflies. The flowers resemble chives, but are less likely to self-sow. Deadheading after the flowers are past their prime also lessens the chance of volunteer plants.

Millenium allium

Another plant new to us this year is the perennial sunflower Helianthus salicifolius “Low Down” (aka willow-leafed sunflower). This is an improved version of a much taller native plant. It gets bright  yellow flowers in late summer on a short 12″ plant.

Helianthus ‘Low Down’

We have had the red-flowered Scarlet hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus) planted here since 2009 when I got the seeds from two sisters whose garden was featured on the Master Garden Garden Walk that year. Their garden was planted with many of the species we have here today, and served as an inspiration for me to grow pollinator and butterfly friendly plants like the hibiscus. The blooms only last for one day, but open over a long period from late summer to early fall. They do like moist growing conditions so I make sure they get extra water as needed.

Scarlet hibiscus

Another newcomer is the South Pacific Scarlet canna I grew from seed this year. I have several planted in containers, since it is not reliably hardy in our area. It was a 2013 AAS Winner, and we also have South Pacific Orange planted which was a 2018 AAS Winner and has bright orange blooms. Both are blooming now.

South Pacific Scarlet canna

We’ve had the native black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) and taller brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba) planted for many years. Last years a planted I red flowered cultivar called Cherry Brandy. It has maroon flowers with a brown center, and is putting on a good show in its second year.

Rudbeckia Cherry Brandy

It’s also the second year for the Echinacea Sombrero Baja Burgundy, and this 2020 AAS Winner is a real stunner. The butterflies love it too!

Echinacea Sombrero Baja Burdundy

I’ll close with a shot of the flag my wife created for our butterfly and pollinator garden. Made of heavy weight waterproof canvas material, it graces one corner of the Wild Garden. It brightens up the area, and I eagerly await to see what other creations she can make with the material!

garden flag

I hope you have enjoyed this look at some of the things that are blooming now in our gardens. I’ll be back soon with more happenings from Happy Acres!

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