Yesterday, I took a tomato canning course through Slow Food Chicago. I suspected (correctly) that I didn’t really need the course, as between my books and experience with jam I could figure it out. However I also suspected (also correctly) that it would give me a chance to meet other people who are interested in food & food preservation.

Not that I did a great job of getting or giving contact info…

When I signed up for the course, way back a bazillion years ago, I paid for them to purchase 10 lbs of tomatoes on my behalf. I do have a CSA share, and the farm we get it from is “named after tomatoes”:http://tomatomountain.com/ but last year I didn’t get so many tomatoes that I felt I’d have enough for this workshop.

Well, I don’t have 10 lbs in my fridge, but OH MAN do I have tomatoes in this house. I would guess I have 5 – 7 lbs of tomatoes in the house from Tomato Mountain right now.

It’s a little overwhelming for a woman who spent more than half her life (so far) loathing tomatoes.

So, I’m working on preserving them. I could can the tomatoes I have right now, but I’m trying something again this year that I tried last year. I’m “roasting the bad boys.”:http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/slow-roasted-tomatoes/ Last year I tried this recipe (but not with tiny tomatoes) and everything turned to charcoal.

This year, I have three 9 × 13 Pyrex pans in the oven. One has the tiniest tomatoes we got in it, and I expect to pull it out soon. The other two have the bigger tomatoes. All have garlic cloves.

My hope is to be able to freeze these for later delicious use. I’m not sure what, but something. Of course, if I make charcoal again, I’ll be SOL. But, we’ll see. It’s already looking better than it did.

Tomorrow, I’ll hit the farmers’ market I shop at but don’t manage & buy a bunch of tomatoes. THEN I shall can some tomatoes. It’ll be fun. And messy.

And if I’m lucky, Bill will help me clean up the mess & appreciate my tomatoes.