the last of summer {for real this time}

I thought that we were done with the summer tomatoes.  We had no more from our garden and our CSA(s) were no longer sending any.  But this weekend, when we showed up at Grady's grandparents' house, there was an entire kitchen counter full of tomatoes that they had gone out and picked the night before to save them from the predicted frost.  So somehow, a box of tomatoes ended up in our car as we were heading home ...

If these tomatoes had come in a few months ago, I would have attempted canning them.  But you're only supposed to can produce that is unblemished and completely ripe and pretty much perfect.  I don't think end-of-the-season tomatoes qualify.  So, I prepped them and will just freeze them instead.  Drop tomatoes in boiling water for 10 seconds, take them out and make a slit in the skin; peel tomatoes, core them and split them open and remove the seeds.  I put the seeds in a sieve to get tomato juice.  I also used my fingers more than a knife because the tomatoes get so slippery!  It's all in the fridge right now because I ran out of steam (read: I needed dinner), but today I'll just put them into plastic bags and into the freezer - all set for homemade sauces and soups.

It's a rather messy process - skinning and gutting tomatoes.  I got a rather large bowl of chopped tomatoes and a few cups of tomato juice out of it though.  And since I was working through dinner time (Grady wasn't home for dinner), I finished up by enjoying a cup of warm tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich.  Yum!

Up next is the pile of winter squash that has been staring at me from the pantry floor for the past few weeks.  I think I will end up with enough pumpkin puree to last me quite a while!