Monday morning catch up...

I've been a bit negligent of this blog for the last week, in my defense I've been really ill with this cold/respiratory infection/bronchitis, as well as still attempting to care for the grandkids. On Friday I spent the entire day in bed except to get up to get drinks and such. Saturday and Sunday I started feeling a bit better, and today, well my lungs still feel horrible but I'm trying to be optimistic. I found a new vegan dilemma through this, alot of over the counter medications contain animal products like gelatin. Since I'm not a huge fan of taking meds for every little thing, I hadn't realized this in the past. I spent 45 minutes in the cold medicine section at my local CVS trying to find something, a lovely pharmacist came to assist me, and considering my high blood pressure the only medication I could take, was not vegan, and actually wouldn't have helped my symptoms at all. She told me that I couldn't take anything at all that would clear up the head congestion since it would also raise BP. Then she suggested things I could do, like a Neti Pot. Have you ever tried this before? Seriously, that thing works. It worked so well I went back to get one for my son who has serious chronic sinus issues. So the Neti Pot along with my tried and true Cayenne Tea for chest congestion, and lots of juices and water, has me feeling a bit better this morning, (at least after I woke and hacked up half a lung). So now that we covered all that, let's get on to some other activities. Last week I picked blueberries at a nearby farm and so of course that meant blueberry jam, my grandson's favorite. I don't generally recommend canning with young children around, all that boiling water, boiling syrup etc...can be dangerous, but I didn't have much choice, I like to can the same day I pick for that delicious freshness. We set about canning. I'm using it also as a science lesson for my grandson, now that he's out of school for the summer I'm trying to keep his mind engaged. So I explained that in canning you have to be very precise, you have to have just the right balance of acid and alkaline and you have to carefully measure or your end product won't taste great and may spoil. Here is our end result:

14 jars of beautiful Blueberry Jam, we gave away some and stored the rest in the canning closet along with the Strawberry we made in March, we now have enough jam for the entire year. While putting it away, my grandson said, "I like that we never have to buy jam because we make it ourselves, that's better right grammy". It sure is sweetie.

On Sunday we had to can tomatoes, I had about 25 pounds that needed canning, so even though I had planned to do absolutely nothing, instead I found myself doing tomatoes. If you've never canned tomatoes, be forewarned, it's a bit of a job, well worth it, but definitely one of the most time consuming and laborious canning projects. You have to peel the tomatoes first, this is done by plunging them into boiling water, then ice water, then the skins will slip off, then you core and chop them. Since I was doing crushed tomatoes, for use in spaghetti sauce or soups, I then had to crush them in the pot while they came to a boil. Then you get to pour them into the jars, and get them into the water bath for 45 minutes. I can only fit 6 quart sized jars at a time so I had to water bath in 2 batches. Sounds like fun right? Maybe not so much, but as I said, the result is very much worth the effort. When you open a jar in January and you smell fresh tomato, it's wonderful. Here's those results:

11 quarts of crushed tomatoes. Yum.

That's the end of my canning adventures. On to some of the delicious food I've been eating.

Although I haven't been in the mood for much food, I still have to eat and feed the little people, here is one of the things we ate last week, recipe follows:

Roasted Tomato Soup with Grilled Daiya Cheese Sandwich

This tomato soup is seriously delicious, but here's the thing, I don't know exactly how many tomatoes it takes, I generally just pick what I have, cut the larger ones, the smaller cherry tomatoes stay whole, and I fill a large baking sheet, once it's full I know I have enough. Sorry to not be more precise.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Assorted tomatoes, enough to fill a large baking sheet
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 med onion cut in wedges
3 tbs fresh basil chopped
4 cups vegetable broth

Preheat oven to 350.
1.Cut any tomatoes larger than cherry tomatoes in halves or quarters. I use a variety of tomatoes, whatever is ready in my garden, in this batch I had alot of sun gold tomatoes and yellow pear, so the soup is lighter in color. Add the garlic cloves and onion to the baking sheet. Drizzle Olive oil over all, sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for about 45 minutes, until everything is carmelized.
2. Add everything on the baking sheet to a food processor along with the basil. Pulse until it's the consistency you like, chunky or smooth is up to you. I make it smoother for the kids but chunky when making for just myself.
3. Add tomato mixture to a saucepan with vegetable broth and allow to come to low boil, reduce to simmer for about 15 minutes, just enough to mingle the flavors.
I always serve this with a grilled cheese made simply with whole grain bread and Daiya Cheddar Cheese. Enjoy.
I hope your day and your week is filled with joy, now I have to run to make some pumpkin muffins for the little folks.