Fall Harvest

In the spring of the year it's very easy to get carried away planting a vegetable garden.  All those pretty seed packets and pictures beckoning us to try just one more variety of tomato.  It's very easy to forget that come Fall, there's a lot of produce to process. *

I've been busy as a bee lately but my efforts have been restricted mostly to the kitchen.  I began my weekend by collecting tomatoes from the garden.

Scotia tomatoes ripening on the vines

The tomatoes are ripening very quickly and in large numbers so I had to find a use for them quickly.  Along with the tomatoes I also picked a small handful of cilantro, a couple carrots and an onion.  Can you guess what those ingredients might make?

If you guessed salsa you'd be correct.  Now a fresh salsa doesn't use that much produce or preserve anything but it makes a great snack while you're attempting to cook other things like apple cider.

I've never actually made apple cider before but considering we've got several boxes of apples in the basement right now waiting to be used and more apples to come yet on the trees I've decided to branch out and try some new recipes.

I also needed to find a use for all those tomatoes.  So I've made several batches of tomato soup, some to eat and some to freeze.  There's nothing like fresh soup straight out of the garden to warm your tummy and fill you up.

I'm really enjoying all this wonderful food but I've hardly made a dent in all the produce we have available.  Looks like I'll be spending a lot more time this fall cooking in my kitchen.


*that's right, I said Fall.  I don't like it any more than you do but the indicators are all there.  Children back to school next week, ripening tomatoes and apples, fat carrots waiting to be picked, fall fairs, and temperatures dipping at night.