Zucchini

I just realized that I never shared what I decided to do about which way to grow our zucchini. Our choices were:

1. Just letting them grow as they please.

2. Growing them Vertically. Whether that be using a tomato cage or stakes.

We ended up making a cage out of some fencing we had, so it was kind of like a tomato cage. (I didn't take any pictures of it on the plants where you could see it, sorry.)  

In this picture the cage in in place and you can see how the plant is growing upward.  

As the plants started to get bigger I trimmed up the leaves on the bottom so the Zucchini had room to grow. The plant started to get pretty big for the cage and it was becoming difficult to reach in and trim up the plant. 

Right before we left for vacation I removed the cage. I knew I wasn't going to be there to remove the pesky leaves that were in the way and we did have some little Zucchini popping up. We switched to the free method.

I think it worked out quite well because when we got back this is what we had waiting for us.

Now to make something delicious out of them!

When Life gives you Tomatoes

We have been getting tomatoes from the garden lately and we decided to try a tomato sauce recipe with the ones we had plus a few extra from the store since not all of our tomatoes were ripe at the same time. We thought starting with a small batch was a good starting place since it was a new recipe.

Seasoned Tomato Sauce

INGREDIENTS

• • 12 cups chopped ripe tomatoes (about 6lbs)
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1tsp dried)
  • 2 tsp granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp salt

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INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano, sugar, pepper and bay leaves in a large stainless steel or enameled saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, until very thick, about 1 1/4 hours; stir frequently. Press through a food mill or coarse sieve to remove seeds and skins. Add lemon juice and salt.
2. Ladle sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe tops clean. Put on lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 35 minutes. Remove and cool.
3. Makes about 4 cups

What I did a little different: We don't have a food mill to remove the seeds and skins so we started by blanching the tomatoes so we could peel them before we started. We just left the seeds in.

Blanch Your Tomatoes

• Fill a large 7- to 8-quart pot with 1 gallon water; bring water to boiling. 
• Using a sharp knife, cut a shallow X on the bottom of each tomato. This encourages the skin to split during blanching so you'll be able to slip off the skin easily with your fingers once the tomatoes have cooled. 
• Working in 1-pound batches, immerse tomatoes in the boiling water.
• Cook until the tomato skins split open.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer tomatoes to a large bowl of ice water.