Will I ever finish?

Today I boiled,

and I steamed, and when I was done -

I had canned 9 pints of tomato sauce, 3 pints of clear tomato juice

and 7 pints of freezer carrots!

Don't the carrots look pretty? I've never done freezer carrots before but they weren't hard at all and they smell yummy! As for the tomatoes, I just juice them in my juicer for one hour, then wind them through my vitorio strainer and put in bottles. Then I water bath them for 5 minutes to get the lids to seal. I use this sauce to make speghetti sauce or add with crushed tomatoes. I also can some of the clear juice left over from the tomatoes. It is great to add to your stews, giving a great taste to the stock you already have!

Earlier this week I bottled these pie apples. I still have about 14 more quarts to go, but this was the first batch. They are a little labor intensive and I must advise you to buy an apple peeler and corer (the crank kind works best), otherwise you will be peeling and coring for days! Now here are the recipes for the pie apples and the carrots!

Freezer Carrots

8 Cups of sliced or diced carrots

1 Cube of butter

1 1/2 tsp of salt

2 Tbls of brown sugar

Put everything in a large pan, add enough water that you can see it, but not so it covers all the carrots. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Cool and place in containers and freeze.

Pie Apples

6 qts apples, peeled and sliced

4 1/2 C sugar

1 C Clear gel or cornstarch ( I prefer the Clear Gel)

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

10 C water

3 Tbls lemon juice

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large pan. Add the water and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until thick. In a clean quart jar add about 1/2 C of filling, add apple slices, using a knife to work them down in. Finish filling with filling to neck, leaving at least 1/2 inch space. Repeat until all jars are full. Wipe mouth of jar with a rag dipped in vinegar (helps the sealing process) put lid and ring on. Process in water bath for 25 minutes. Should make 7 quarts.

We have a bumper crop of carrots and apples this year, so I am sure I will be re-using these recipes over the next week or so. Let me know how they turn out for you!

Chris