Plum Tomatoes

Yesterday, we traveled many miles to obtain a good price on plum tomatoes. Considering they were selling them for $1/lb, we got a pretty good deal. It was $18 for a 25lb case. We got two. What do you ask we're doing with all these tomatoes? *smile*. It's canning season and we're making sauce. We did one batch last night after a little discussion about the process. My memory was faulty. There were several steps. First we washed them all off. Then we cut them into large chunks. Next we boiled/simmered the raw tomatoes until they softened. Food Milling was next. It removed all the skins and seeds. Very convenient when making sauce. Anyhow, afterwards, I sliced up two cloves* of fresh garlic and sauteed with a good amount of extra virgin olive oil and bay leaves. To it we added the tomato puree and later I seasoned with salt & pepper after the sauce reduced by at least 2/3. We were too tired to can last night so we're doing it tonight. Steve said he tasted the sauce this morning and that it was delicious. We already have a couple people who've ordered a jar from us. For free, of course.

Oh, we went to get the tomatoes in Newburgh, NY at a local store called Adam's Fairacre Farms. It's a nice, medium sized store and they carry many local products and they offer a nice selection of "natural", "gourmet" products. They also have a really nice garden center. With a greenhouse and everything. We always go there to take in the beauty and stare and the fishes before shopping. Goldfish.

*should be two bulbs of garlic