Goodness!! Where has the time went?  It has been one month since I last posted.  Spring and fall is a stressful time for our family.  We want to grow a productive garden, put as much produce away as possible, and homeschool.  I get stressed trying to squeeze all of this into a day.  It is important to us to teach our children and eat healthy food.  So, we try to do it all.  Everything has a season and this season has almost passed.  We have been canning grape juice, corn relish, tomatoes, digging potatoes, making apple butter and homeschooling.

We knew that we needed to get our potatoes dug, but with everything else, we just could not find the time.  When the forecast called for possible thunderstorms, with localized flooding, we knew we had to get them out of the ground.  With the head of the household at work, the maidens and I did school, then set to work.  It really was not that difficult as we used the tractor!!

Some of findings!!

A maiden with large potatoes.

Strange shaped potato.

We ended up with seven bushel out of five rows.  This will take care of our family throughout the winter. 

Pray for our President and this country.  We, as a country, are in such an economic and moral decline, that I wonder if the Lord allows this earth to stand, what will our children have to endure.

Sorry for the delay in my posting.  Life has just gotten busy.  Monday started with school back in full swing.  I will post more on homeschooling, why we do it, and how we do it this winter.  As for now, canning is in full swing.

On Monday we also canned tomato sauce.  My husband was at work, the maidens was beginning school, so an early rise was in store for the canning to get completed.  We usually can a lot of tomato sauce, since this is what we use the most of.  I always can it straight not mixing in spices.  I add what is needed according to what we are eating.

 

Sink full of tomatoes

 

After picking, all need to be washed.  From one sink to the other.  Ready to be cut up.

 

 

 

Juicing the tomatoes.  I love this handy, dandy tool!  It is so quick and easy to use.  At one time I used the Foley Food Mill.  All the tomatoes had to be cut and heated on the stove to a soft soup.  After all of that they could be put in the Foley Food Mill and riced out.

 

 

With the Roma there is no need to cut the core out of the tomatoes.  I never do, unless I am saving the pulp to dry.

 

One half with core cut out, one half with core left in.

 

The pulp coming out the end of Roma Food Strainer and Sauce Maker.

 

 

Ricing the tomatoes

 

Cleaning the sieve so juice can be dumped.

 

 

My early morning helper!

 

 

Juice

 

Juice cooking down on the stove.  I cook the juice down most of the morning to thicken.

During this time it must be occasionally stirred, so it does not stick.  Scorched juice is ruined.

 

 

Maiden one and three doing schoolwork.

 

 

 

I usually keep the pulp and put it in the drier in a very thin sheet.  After it is dried, it is ground, and used to thicken soups and stews.  This is a good way to not waste anything from the tomatoes. I did not have to much time this morning, so I feed it to the hogs.  Still being useful only in a different fashion. 



End product.  This will be used in chili, soups, stews, spaghetti, lasagna, and numerous other recipes.