Here we go again

Monday night Tiffany and I drove out to Homeville for the produce auction. This all started because Tiffany's brother was an auctioneer there on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings. Since I am off work, I can do things like go to the auction in the evening. I wanted to get some tomatoes, so asked Tiffany if she wanted to ride along. She has been after me to do salsa. I did one batch, but we needed more.

We were actively bidding for tomatoes at the auction and then something else would catch my eye. Zucchini! Beets! Onions!

Tiffany kept telling me focus, focus! Tomatoes!!! Tomatoes!!!

Well, needless to say, 5 pecks beets, 4 pecks onions, 4 pecks zucchini and yellow squash, and
12 pecks roma tomatoes, 4 pints yellow pear tomatoes , 6 pints blackberries, and 1 dozen sweet corn later we headed home!

Tiffany said she would help cut up the tomatoes and help make the salsa.
We started at 5:30am Tuesday morning and I didn't finish until 11:30pm. I am still not done. I finished 2 batches of tomato sauce this morning and the beets are just on to boil now.





We made over 60 pints salsa, 14 pints pizza sauce, 8 quarts spaghetti sauce, and 10 quarts tomato sauce. I must be nuts!
The problem is where do you put all this stuff while you are making it and where do you store all of it when you are done?

As you can tell we set up extra tables in the living room. Even with the new kitchen counters, there just wasn't enough room to put everything.


Thank goodness I bought the big stove with the POWER burner. It brings the hot water bath up to temperature rather quickley and keeps it at a rolling boils during processing!

Now I understand why they had summer kitchens or stoves out on the back porch in the old days. My kitchen was so hot, even though there was a beautiful breeze. It was silly to put the air conditioner back on, just to keep the kitchen cool, when the rest of the house was chilly. Now all I have to do is finish the beets, shred and freeze the zucchini and get to my hair appointment by 5pm. Then I am going to rest!