Monday, November 04, 2013

Preserving: Frozen Stewed Tomatoes

We enjoyed fresh tomatoes all October. Even though I picked them green in late September to ripen indoors, they turned out perfect. But when it came time for a trip at the end of October, I had a few left we couldn't consume.

I decided to stew the last and freeze them. It's so nice to have a regular size propane refrigerator with a large freezer at the cabin. It was one of the improvements we made in 2011 that has made our off-the-grid home perfect.

I diced the remaining tomatoes and heated them through on my propane stove (another of our 2011 upgrades). I used my Bernadin plastic freezer jars and got five half pints. They'll be handy to grab for soups, sauces, or casseroles.

I love eating food I've grown myself. In the winter, the garden is pretty dormant, so having a taste of summer makes me remember that the seasons cycle, and summer will return in due time. -- Margy

7 comments:

  1. I use those same plastic canning jars - love them. We get a lot of berries in the summer from the berry farms around here and those are perfect for freezing. I too, love the taste of summer in the winter.

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  2. Anonymous11:10 AM

    Those are great little containers aren't they? I've got some and they get plenty of use. Adding home grown to your winter meals will make it taste all the better.

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  3. Looks good! Our tomato crop was a complete bust, and I wish I'd thought about going to buy some fresh farm picked tomatoes by the bushel somewhere. Now I'll have to settle for store bought, but I'm still going to freeze them fresh for future use. I've never heard of the containers you have...I just might have to take advantage of your link:)

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  4. My tomatoes did not do very well this year. I hope to plant twice as many next year as we love fresh tomatoes and I can always freeze them if we have too many as well. Cheers!

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  5. Your propane stove reminded me of the one we had at our summer cottage as a child. We had a lot of Russet Apples this year and I had to be creative to have them for the winter months. I even made some fresh apple juice from those apples, tasted so good, even freeze some of that as well.

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  6. I've done exactly the same with my surplus tomatoes (apart from drying some). The frozen pots are so useful for quick mid week meals. My propane cooker is being fitted tomorrow. After two years of basically cooking on a camping stove, I cannot wait!! xxx

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  7. Lise - I like the containers because they get a good seal, but something square would be better for storage.

    Fran - I'll check your blog to see how the propane cooker turns out.

    Margy

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We welcome your comments and questions. - Wayne and Margy