As promised I am going to let you in on my tip with what to do with all those tomatoes.
Our tomatoes have started to ripen and I started processing them last night.
Firstly, get a big pot and chop up some onions and lightly sauté them.
Roughly chop as many tomatoes as you like, any varieties and add them to the pan.
Grate zucchini, carrots or any other veggies you have an abundance of in your garden and add to the pot.
Add a healthy handful of basil and let the heat cook the mix for about 15 minutes, stirring often.
Get out your old faithful bamix or mouli and roughly puree the tomato mixture while still in the pot.
Let the mixture simmer while stirring occasionally for about an hour. The longer it simmers the more thick and reduced the mixture.
You can freeze this mixture if you don’t have a preserving kit. I use fowlers jars and fill each jar with the pasta sauce adding about a tablespoon of lemon juice to each jar, seal them up and then put them in the preserver as per the directions.
These will keep all year and are very handy for a quick meal of pasta ( just add the cooked mince and you have a Spaghetti Bolognese sauce!). Also good as the sauce on a pizza, added to casseroles and the list goes on.
Friends of mine ask why I bother growing and processing fruit and veggies, especially when you can buy a can of tomatoes for about $1.00.
There are many reasons for this the main ones being it tastes soooo much better, there is a lot of satisfaction in preparing a meal with predominately your own produce, the food miles are minimal and therefore we are doing our bit for reducing our carbon footprint.
If you have any other useful tips on how to use up all those veggies we produce or how to make them last all year, feel welcome to add a post of your own.