My friend Betsy, my daughter Laurel, and I canned two hundred pounds of tomatoes yesterday, beginning at 7:30 AM and finally completing the task about twelve hours later. Two hundred pounds!

Canning is hot, tiring and messy work, especially when you’re dealing with two hundred pounds of tomatoes. Even with the fan and air conditioner blasting arctic air, the vats of boiling water kept the kitchen considerably warmer than the rest of the house. Splattering tomatoes were in evidence on walls, floors, cabinet doors, countertops, anything on countertops, a variety of bowls holding canning paraphernalia, the stovetop, clothing, and any dog that happened to stroll through our work area.

Here’s the procedure for canning tomatoes. Gather enough jars, matching lids and rings, lemon juice, salt, cooling racks, sharp knives, large spoons, canning funnels, cutting boards, compost buckets for peelings, pressure canner, numerous large bowls and every saucepan and stock pot in your house and your friend’s house. The actual process begins with washing tomatoes, dipping them in boiling water in order to loosen peels, peeling and coring tomatoes, quartering tomatoes, heating tomatoes to boiling, filling sterilized jars, wiping the rims, covering with lids and rings, placing jars in pressure canners for the correct amount of time, removing jars after pressure is released, and then waiting for that satisfying click that lets you know the jar has sealed.

Now I have a stockpile of natural, healthy, local food with no preservatives. During the process I was able to spend social time with my daughter and my friend. You can find out a lot about a person as she problem-solves about canning and speaks what’s on her mind. One example is I found that neither canning partner was overly fond of “This Land Is Your Land.” I just could not think of any tomato songs.

Betsy and I shared about our jars, which have been with us through many canning adventures. We both had American bicentennial commemorative jars and antique square jars. I found my old jars in the hog barn behind my mother-in-law’s house. Now that she has left this world, I feel like I am honoring her by using her canning jars and following in her footsteps.

One of the jars of tomatoes did not seal properly, so I had to use the contents soon. The squash that Roger brought in from the garden and left on the countertop (now tomato-free) gave me an idea for supper. I also had leftover ground meat to use and plenty of fresh herbs, so I made Summer Soup. Here’s the recipe:

1 quart tomatoes
1 quart tomato sauce (also fresh canned)
2-3 cups water
1 pound ground lamb
1 squash, diced into small pieces
1 zucchini, diced into small pieces
¼-1/3 cup angel hair pasta, broken into 1-inch pieces
Handful of fresh, chopped herbs (oregano, chives, parsley,basil)

Heat tomatoes, tomato sauce and water. When boiling, add squash, zucchini, and herbs. Add cooked ground meat. When squash and zucchini are almost tender, add angel hair pasta and cook about ten more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. And if you’re lucky, slice a piece of your daughter’s fresh sourdough bread to go along with a savory summer soup.