“Putting Up Summer”

This week we find ourselves nearly half way through the month of September!  When did that happen?  I apologize for my absence over the past month, as I was focusing on the launch of my website – www.savorypear.com .  I am back and eager to share with you my culinary adventures from the past few weeks of pure summer!

As the title of this entry suggests, when taking breaks from the computer, I have been “putting up” my favorite flavors of summer.  For those of you who may be new to this term, it is slang for canning or preserving.

I have always been interested in canning, preserving, making pickles and jams.  My grandmother had a whole room in her cellar

dedicated to all the foods she would preserve from my grandfather’s garden.  I loved going down there and staring at the rows and rows of colorful, shiny jars each filled with the summer’s bounty for everyone to enjoy through the winter.  A few years back I was reminding her of this and she handed over her recipe box filled with delicious canning ideas.  The one I was most after was for her spaghetti sauce.  It was always a treat when she would part with one of these quart containers filled with sweet tomatoes and peppers in the dead of the Michigan winter. In the past few weeks, my focus has been on preserving the amazing sweet and delicate tomatoes so prominent now in the markets. For the next two or three weeks, they are bountiful, cheap and extraordinarily sweet.  Even in cooked form, they are far and away better than the mealy pink globes the grocery stores call tomatoes in the dead of winter.  Therefore, I have gotten myself a few flats of different types of tomatoes and created several different products from them!  See below for a couple of my recipes and experiment with your own “putting up”!

Simple Summer Tomatoes

10# Heirloom or other organic, sweet tomatoes
Kosher Salt, optional
Basil sprigs, optional

Preheat oven to 225°.  Place 4 clean quart jars and 2 clean pint jars upside down on a baking sheet in the oven.  On a separate sheet pan,

place the lids and screw tops, also in the oven.  FIll a large canning or stock pot 3/4 of the way full and place over high heat.  Place a rack in the bottom so the jars do not sit directly on the bottom. Wash and quarter the tomatoes, discarding any tomatoes that are bruised or rotting.  Place all the tomatoes in a large, non-reactive (stainless, NOT aluminum) pan over medium high heat.  Stir occasionally, every  5 or so minutes until the tomatoes have broken down.

Chef’s note:  Personally I like to can half of the tomatoes this way, with seeds, skins and all (this is where you add the salt and basil).  I use them in more rustic dishes or simple pasta sauces in the winter.  The other half I put through a food mill and make more “refined” so they lose the seeds and skins!

Once your water is boiling, you are ready to go!  Working quickly, remove the jars from the oven. Using a wide mouth canning funnel, carefully ladle the tomatoes within a 1/4 inch of the top of each jar.  Take a butter knife, slide it down the sides of each jar a couple of times to remove any air bubbles that may have

formed.  Wipe the inside and outside of the jars with a damp paper towel, ensuring there are not any drips that could affect the seal.  Remove the lids and screw tops from the oven.  Gently place one lid on each jar.  Working quickly, screw the tops on, only until finger tight.  Do not get carried away here, we’re not looking for superman!  Using canning tongs, carefully place each jar into the boiling water, making sure the water comes 1 inch above the jars.  Return the water to a boil, and process for 35-40 minutes depending on if using pints or quarts.  Carefully remove the jars to a dry towel.  Let jars rest overnight to cool to room temperature.  The lids should now be concave and should not move when pressed in the center.  Store for up to 1 year, if you can hold out that long!!

Below is a way to use some of those tomatoes in an adaptation of my Grandma’s recipe…

Gram’s Spaghetti Sauce
5# Sweet Summer Tomatoes, such as Early Girl or San Marzano

4 large yellow onions
4 large carrots
4 stalks celery
4 sweet bell peppers
6 cloves garlic
Basil or Oregano sprigs, optional
Kosher Salt, optional

Prepare canner and tomatoes as stated in above recipe.  Prepare 4 to 6 quart jars as stated above.

Once the tomatoes have been stewed, pass them through a food mill and set aside.  Discard any skins or seeds that remain.  Place the onions, carrots, celery, peppers, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely diced.  Heat the tomato pot over medium high heat. add 1/3 cup olive oil.  Add the diced vegetables and cook, stirring often for 10 to 15 minutes, or until peppers are soft.  Add the milled tomatoes into the vegetables and allow to come to a boil.  Let the sauce cook down to desired thickness, about 30 minutes.  Add salt here if using.

Once the water bath has come to a boil, carefully remove the jars from the oven.  Fill the containers half way with the sauce, add full sprigs of basil or oregano here, then filling the jars the rest of the way.  Follow instructions above for processing.

Enjoy the deliciousness of summer well into the chill of winter!