Tomato Time!

Well, it was that time of year. Time for the 10+ bushels of tomatoes from a farm in New Jersey. Time for the countless hours cutting, cooking, straining and jarring. (it usually goes about 10 hours from start to cleanup) But, a year's worth of homemade gravy (that's "sauce" for the Italian-impaired) is so, so worth it!

2 basil leaves are added to each jar for seasoning. The kids were proud that we had more than enough basil from our own garden to put in each and every jar.
We even picked enough plum tomatoes to yield 2 jars of our own! We are lucky enough that we still have peppers, eggplant and tomatoes still growing. It is supposed to get a bit cooler in the upcoming weeks. But, all of the fresh (and pesticide-free!) vegetables were wonderful all summer long!

I did not have an official job during the whole tomato process other than trying to keep the kids occupied and away from the hot surfaces. My husband and mom cut the tomatoes
while dad cooked them.
















Mom and dad strained twice









before putting back on the stove one last time to get hot enough for jarring.
















Mom and dad also sealed. I think there were blisters to prove it!