Yakima Tomatoes Galore

An ambitious moment at a Ballard produce shack resulted in a full night's work for Peter and me. Last week, I came home with 30 lbs of tomatoes from the Yakima valley: round, hefty, and ready for a little special treatment.














In order to give these tomatoes a run for their money, Pete and I had to round up a few tools. We managed to find the wide-mouthed funnel and tongs at the local hardware store (it was the fourth or fifth one we visited - apparently we weren't the only folks in search of tools we should've saved from Grandma's kitchen). The Kerr jars were easy to find. But getting enough large stock pots for all those orbs was a trick! We ended up borrowing an enormous pot from our neighbor, Linda.

(enter Linda from stage left)

Linda lives in the house right next door to us. She's probably in her forties. I'm not sure she "works" in the traditional sense of the word. But she probably says the same thing about us! Anyway, she's 100% dedicated to the Open-Mic Night she coordinates each week. She tells us about it every time she sees us and advertises it on the back of her car with white window paint. That's dedication.














As I looked online for a little assistance for our first canning endeavor, I came across a fantastic website from the National Center for Home Food Preservation - I highly recommend you check it out. We used their recipe for crushed tomatoes, which worked out brilliantly.














While we're chatting about good reads, I have one more tip. If you're lucky enough to live in the fine state of Minnesota, pick up a free copy of this month's Edible Twin Cities. In it, our good friend, Zach Hawkins, has a feature article entitled, The New Preservationists. But beware - it might just be enough to send you out in search of 30 lbs of ripe tomatoes.