Stewed Tomatoes - Go Figure

Well, my grandparents and great grandparents could have told me if they were alive today - Farming is a gamble with nature.  I can't imagine what it must have been like to farm any crops without all the pesticides, John Deere tractors and equipment, watering systems etc.  They had wagons and mules and mostly homemade seeders and plows.  I count my blessings.  Yesterday, I was proven wrong, once again.  Remember how I complained that I had 16 tomato plants and hadn't picked more than 10 tomatoes all season and now we had a freeze two weeks ago and figured they were history.  Well, I walked out to the veg garden yesterday to see what had to be done to take everything down for the winter and to my surprise, I picked a full 5 gallon bucket of fresh ripe tomatoes.  YUP! No freeze rot or burn and the bushes were still full of ripening fruit.  Last night we had another hard freeze so I am not sure if they finally got it or not but today.........my schedule is already laid out for today........it is canning those 5 gals of tomatos.  I can't believe, canning in the last week of October.  Go figure. 

I am going to make "stewed tomatoes" as that is my husbands favorite and might make a batch of "salsa" also.  Big ideas, but lets see what I turn out with.  Now to dig out and unwrap the canner, dig out and wash and sterilize the jars, dig out and wash and sterlize the lids and seals, dig out the big enamel bean pot to boil the water to help skin the tomatos, pour a bag of ice into the filled sink of cold water so after scalding the tomatoes and seeing their skins start to split, dipping them out with tongs, thrusting them into the iced water which will make them peel very easily.

Once skinned, chopping them up and putting them in a big pot, along with chopped onions, some chopped green peppers (out of the garden, of course), celery salt, some sugar and a small douse of salt.

Here are the exact measurements and recipe:  CANNING STEWED TOMATOES

4 qts skinned, chopped, cored tomatos
1/2 c chopped green peppers
1/2 c chopped onions
4 tsp celery salt
4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Place in a large saucepan/pot and bring to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionaly. Pack hot mixture in warm jars, remove air bubbles by inserting a knitting needle down inside the jar, forcing the air bubbles out.  Pressure cook at 10lbs pressure for 15 mins for pint jars or 20 mins for quart jars.  Remove, place on a doubled old bath towel and covering jars with another doubled old bath towel.  Leave overnight and then check the seals in the morning to make sure they all popped inward.  Mark your jars - "Stewed Tomatoes"  and date.

There you go - get started.  if you don't have a pressure cooker you can water bath the filled jars.  If you want instructions on water bathing, send me a comment or email at mickipi2008@gmail.com and I will send you instructions for wather bathing. 

That is it for today.  Moving hay bales today and working with my mules if I have time. Plus canning - oh heck - well maybe we need to make this a 30 hr day. 

FARMER'S WEATHER PROVERBS:
"Forked lightning at night, the next day clear and bright."
"If it rains on a clear sunny day, it will rain again the next day at the same time."
"When the sun sets sadly, the morning will be angry."
"When cattle remain on the hilltops, fine weather to come."
"If birds be silent, expect thunder."

HAVE A GREAT DAY AND THANKS FOR VISITING.