Wednesday, September 15, 2010

You Love Canning

Wow! What a great response I received from my canning post the other day. I had no idea so many of you are interested in finding the time to whip up delicious jarred creations to enjoy all year long. The chill in the air always drives me to the stove. I love to put food up. Not only do I can tomatoes but I pickle beets and cukes, make low-sugar jams and relishes and more.

I just completed a batch of tomatoes and I will be doing more on Saturday after I return from NYC (I'm here starting promotions for Your Best Body Now which debuts September 28th). I will use onions, garlic and herbs from my own garden to flavor the sauce... I'll be posting my canning recipe on my website very soon so stay tuned! It may seem like work and it is but it is satisfying because I know it is an investment in both my health and my time.

Time you ask? Yes! Once the tomatoes are sauced you have a natural version of Fast Food which is even faster because it's already in your house. Here are some yummy ideas to make your next quick meal.

1. Open a jar to serve with pasta - a meal in minutes.
2. Use the sauce as a base from which to make tomato soup.
3. Grill a few chicken breasts and top with jarred sauce.
4. Bake a regular or sweet potato and top with sauce.
5. Chop kale and or Swiss chard. Saute in olive oil until limp, toss with jarred sauce.

I will take many pics when I get "sauced" on Saturday. Stay tuned!

10 comments:

Cajun Girl Living In The Mountains said...

This is great!
You know, I used to make fun of my mom for her gardening and canning. Who would have thought all of these years later, I would be following in her footsteps and that she was following a pretty clean eating lifestyle for us all of those years ago!

P.s. she still gardens and cans every year!

Aisha @The Bewitching Bibliophile said...

i also can, my mom learned from our older Italian neighbor. I make tomato sauce with, the canned tomatoes, fresh garlic, and green peppers, steam the veg in water for like 5 minutes (only a little bit of water, then add canned tomatos, then add in 1 tbspn tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste, add 1 spn sugar substitute then serve with whatever you like.

Laura Childs said...

Home canned tomatoes are the best option for clean eaters. Cans of tomatoes in the grocery store are lined with BPA (yes the same cancer causing ingredient we've been pulling out of plastics).

If you don't have a garden, buy bushels of tomatoes in season at a farmer's market and set aside 1/2 a Saturday to can them up for the remainder of the year.

Anonymous said...

For those that don't have time to can but still want wholesome yummy tomato products, look for Utopia Tomatoes they are packaged in BPA free cans and are Canadian grown and Organic. mmmm yummy! :)

Anonymous said...

I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOUR NEW BOOK, I AM SOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!!

Shop With Capo said...

Tosca, I would love to have a recipe for low-sugar strawberry preserves. I don't buy the stuff at the store because of all the yucky stuff in it.

Denise said...

In my garden nothing goes to waste.AT the beginning of the season I had tons of green tomatoes that just was not turning. So pickled them with cabbage, carrot spears and cauliflower. My DH loved them, so needless to say the green ones that was left on the plants got pickled also. Now just waiting for 1 maybe 2 more batches of peppers and then my canning season is over with. Been a long one.

Denise said...

In my garden nothing goes to waste.AT the beginning of the season I had tons of green tomatoes that just was not turning. So pickled them with cabbage, carrot spears and cauliflower. My DH loved them, so needless to say the green ones that was left on the plants got pickled also. Now just waiting for 1 maybe 2 more batches of peppers and then my canning season is over with. Been a long one.

Kiriandra said...

I grew quite a bit of stuff this year, much more than I could take care of even though I work from home. I have posted some pictures of my garden and pantry on FaceBook - Anne House - so you can see what I've got going.

Plums and apples are in season here, as are peaches so I will be making spreads and such for Yule gifts this year - helping others to Eat Clean too!

http://watches.realbeauty.info/uniqueness-of-the-swatch-watch.aspx said...

This is great!You know, I used to make fun of my mom for her gardening and canning. Who would have thought all of these years later, I would be following in her footsteps and that she was following a pretty clean eating lifestyle for us all of those years ago!P.s. she still gardens and cans every year!