We're Being Attacked By Killer Tomatoes!!!

Why, no, I have never been referred to as a drama queen, why do you ask?  Ok, ok, we're not being attacked... and the tomatoes aren't the same ones from the movies that I recently read are making a comeback (you can read about that on their website).  However, at times recently it has felt as though we are being overrun with this squishy, red fruit.  No matter how many bowls or baskets we harvest, there always seems to be more.  BUT, we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I know we will be extremely thrilled when we can pull the cans of salsa off the shelves to go with homemade tortilla chips, and the bags from the freezer to throw into chili on a cold winter day. 
 


Our patio garden in Vegas...
complete with Pirate Owl Guard
 

Since we came from the desert, you can only imagine that our growing of fresh food was very limited.  Notice I say limited, not nonexistent.  I always have to give Chris the credit he deserves for trying and succeeding (in Las Vegas standards) to garden not only in the dry desert climate, but also on our condo patio, in pots, with no real "land" to speak of.  We occasionally had fresh peppers and a bean here and there, a strawberry a day, which were always eaten by the kids before we could get our hands on them, and a good portion of lettuce.  Tomatoes never did well.  And, although there has been a greater number of farms and community gardens popping up in Vegas in recent years...I feel torn on that issue.  What is the trade off for using already limited city resources to excessively water plants that are not native to the area versus having them trucked in from neighboring California farms using fossil fuels?  Maybe a discussion for another post, but feel free to comment if you have an opinion.

So, what to do with all these tomatoes?...and I haven't even mentioned the apples!  Two large apple trees grace the land near the house.  I'm not sure what kind of apples they are, nor are the owners of the property, but they are a little tart.  This isn't an orchard, so by no means are they perfectly round apples with no flaws.  Quite the contrary.  We've seen some pretty deformed apples growing on those trees, and many that were worm infested, bug bitten, and, the ones that make it to the ground on their own, become the property of chickens and ducks. 

Canning, freezing, saucing, and souping.  That's the answer, and that has also become our weekend activities for the past few weeks.  Our shelves are quickly filling with canned tomatoes, salsa, and pizza sauce.  Our freezer is housing large bags of frozen tomatoes and tomato soup.  This is our first time ever canning and so we won't really know how we did until this winter when we go to open up the jars and hope for the best.  Chris has done all of the tomato work, and I have worked on the apples.  One thing that is a prominent part of my creative persona is never wanting to do the same thing twice.  It comes through in the clothes I make (no matter how popular a design is...recreating it will always take on a new twist), and it came through in the applesauce recipes I tested.  Each batch was a slight variation on the last one...and then it was perfect.  I have posted that recipe for you here.  NOTE:  This can be used exactly the same way to make the best rhubarb sauce ever, or a combo rhubard/apple sauce (just be careful not to burn it like I did!).  Maybe next year we can give a little more info and instruction on canning, once we see how we did!