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Post by johnnyb on Aug 18, 2013 6:43:58 GMT -8
I really went overboard this year with tomatoes because I want to try some different varieties and now I can’t find enough people that like them. I brought some to work thinking my coworkers might enjoy them but they not only don’t like Tomatoes, but they ‘hate’ all vegetables except French fries.  My neighbors all have enough tomatoes of their own. I even tried to give some to homeless people who were panhandling and they said they had no way of eating them. When I told them to just eat it like a peach they said UGH!  Years ago we tried canning but that didn’t work out so well, but we may have to try that again.  |
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Post by cabinetman on Aug 18, 2013 10:45:42 GMT -8
I know the feeling. We have a huge avocado tree. When it produces, we can't give them away. Our dogs wind up scooping them up off the yard. But for your tomatoes, make it worthwhile, and make some money from them... . . |
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Post by johnnyb on Aug 18, 2013 14:11:12 GMT -8
That's good, I'll have to show my wife this. LOL
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Post by Joe Lyddon on Aug 18, 2013 20:12:46 GMT -8
A few years ago, when we were living in Eau Claire, WI, we had a large garden with LOTS of tomatoes.
What we did was to grind them up & put'em in a blender... Tomato Juice!!
We put it up in quart jars... Had enough tomato juice to have a glass each morning with breakfast until growing came again next year.
Worked like a charm... and it was SO GOOD too!
What was nice back there was the rain just wandered over about once a week or so to get everything watered... was really amazing!
That's what we did with our tomato crop.
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Post by Joe Lyddon on Aug 18, 2013 20:37:52 GMT -8
We have a good sized Avocado tree now... Pinkerton's, which are pickable in Nov. ON... What's nice about avocados, is that they don't ripen on the tree and waste away if you cannot eat them in time... With avocados, you pick'em when you want some... and they take about 1-2 weeks to soften for eating... we would pick about 20-25 every two weeks and eat them with dinners, sandwiches, guacamole dip, etc. We give some away too... Great experience! One thing we have figured out so we don't waste any of them, is to make guacamole (with citrus juice added) spread, put it in small zip-loc freezer bags and put them in the freezer! Works GREAT! When we want some guacamole, we pull out a bag, let it defrost, and use it for dip or sandwiches... and it SO GOOD! Works great! We have another good year in the works right now... will have a few hundred this year by the looks of it... we start eating them in November & continue picking to the following April or so... It's a good way of putting the avocados up so we can spread them out over the year... Works great & isn't very hard to do... Oh, they taste great on Bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwiches too! YUM!! We love'em... and eat as many as we can... when we have'em...   The Pinkertons are HUGE compared to the little Haas variety... most of ours are over a pound EACH... and these were NOT quite full size! ;D
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Post by johnnyb on Aug 19, 2013 0:09:36 GMT -8
We have been making a lot of salsa with the tomatoes and our Anaheim peppers, Plus our own version of V-8 juice.
I would love to have an avocado tree, I’ll have to check to see if they grow around here.
I wish I could grow spinach because I eat about 5 lbs a week by myself, but it’s too hot although I’m might try this fall just to see what happens.
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Post by cabinetman on Aug 19, 2013 0:31:50 GMT -8
Avocado trees aren't fast growers. How old are ya. ;D ;D
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Post by johnnyb on Aug 19, 2013 3:27:54 GMT -8
Avocado trees aren't fast growers. How old are ya. ;D ;D . Oops Well I guess that’s out of the question LOL. I never did find out how long they take but one place advertizes Fast growing trees that take 7 yrs less than other trees. If its 7 yrs less then I don’t think I even need to now the rest. Oh well it’s too cold here in the winter anyway |
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Post by Joe Lyddon on Aug 19, 2013 20:32:02 GMT -8
Yep... we got our Pinkerton avocado tree in a 10 gal can... it was about 3' high...
It took almost exactly 7 years before we saw ONE or maybe TWO avocados from it...
Then, we found out that they NEED and WANT to be fertilized GOOD with a Citrus / Avocado fertilizer... Then, the tree started growing like a weed... and we got more & more each year.
So far, our biggest year has close to 350 BIG avocados... looks like we're headed for another whopper of a year!
One year, we had a late spring FREEZE and wiped out all blossoms... lost a whole year with a one day FREEZE!
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Post by ironhat on Sept 3, 2013 8:20:06 GMT -8
I don't see the problem with canning the tomatoes. We've been canning since the kids could hold a plastic, serrated knife. I think that the trick to the 'easy' method is blanching the tomatoes and then dipping them quickly into chilled water. The skins slip off easily. Then, just cut them and pack into jars and give them a steam bath (this is the only specialized equipment) which is quicker and cheaper than completely submersing them in costly boiling water. I'm sure that there are detailed instructions for this process on the web. The other concoctions - salsa, juice, etc - are just as easily preserved. Welcome to the www of canning. ;D It floors me when people say that they can't eat them like a peach. Even our dog does that!! All you need is a salt shaker and produce. Oh yea, if you don't want to tend a stand, put an honor-system in place or a 'FREE' sign and the available produce.
Later,
Chiz
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Post by johnnyb on Sept 5, 2013 6:54:54 GMT -8
Thanks Chiz, I guess I will try canning after I retire. I have all the stuff except the steamer but not the time and my wife just isn’t into it. She loves cooking and has made some sauce with them, but don’t care for sauce unless its salsa. I don’t like Italian foods which is what sauce she makes is for. I think maybe I’m allergic to one of the other ingredients in Italian sauces. I don’t know exactly what it is maybe oregano or something, but it tastes real bad and makes me a little sick with bad heartburn.
I have the same problem with cilantro in Mexican food except they react a little different. I can eat jalapeno peppers without any problem, but just a small amount of cilantro turns my face bright red and sweat pours off my head. It’s so embarrassing for me to eat in a Mexican Restaurant
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Post by cabinetman on Sept 5, 2013 8:14:07 GMT -8
Thanks Chiz, I guess I will try canning after I retire. I have all the stuff except the steamer but not the time and my wife just isn’t into it. She loves cooking and has made some sauce with them, but don’t care for sauce unless its salsa. I don’t like Italian foods which is what sauce she makes is for. I think maybe I’m allergic to one of the other ingredients in Italian sauces. I don’t know exactly what it is maybe oregano or something, but it tastes real bad and makes me a little sick with bad heartburn. I have the same problem with cilantro in Mexican food except they react a little different. I can eat jalapeno peppers without any problem, but just a small amount of cilantro turns my face bright red and sweat pours off my head. It’s so embarrassing for me to eat in a Mexican Restaurant Could you imagine you getting abducted by Mexicans and all they feed you is Mexican food laced with cilantro. Or, you go to visit Mexico, and get stopped at the border, and they think you have contraband in your car. They confiscate your car, and then hold you in jail until they find out. While there, three meals a day are Mexican foods with cilantro. . |
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Post by johnnyb on Sept 6, 2013 4:44:43 GMT -8
I’m sure I’d probably die from dehydration because of all the sweating. Everybody always says that my face looks like I have a bad case of sunburn after eating it and I wouldn’t be surprised if it started blistering.
We used to have a neighbor that had the same reaction as me, but from strawberries which completely floored me. we had a birthday cake with strawberries on top and he would not eat any of the cake even though the strawberries were only on top.
Well people die from peanuts and I guess I could die cilantro if I ate enough of it. ;D
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Post by Joe Lyddon on Sept 6, 2013 9:37:34 GMT -8
WOW!
I have never noticed anything different when adding cilantro with anything...
The stuff I put into my
Ranch Style Beans (Pintos)
1 heaping tsp Oregano
1 heaping tsp Cilantro
1 heaping tsp Granulated Garlic
1.5 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1 cube of Beef Boullion
1 overflowing Tbsp Honey
Tastes great... No problems at all...
Oh Heck....
rest of the procedure:
Put 1 lb of Pinto beans in big pot.
Wash & rinse with cold water & drain.
Add water until it goes 1.5" OVER the Beans.
Heat on high until it starts to boil; then, turn to Low, Cover, & let it cook for 1.5 hrs.
Add spices, etc. from above & stir good...
I turn the heat back to High to get back to a boil then, turn it down.
with the heat still on Low keep on cooking... stirring every 20 minutes for another hour or so until you like them. I usually cook them maybe 1.5 hrs longer, stirring, to get them thicker.
YUM YUM GOOD! Goes great with steak or just by the bowl with crackers!
... and the Cilantro, etc. causes no problems at all. (to me)
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Post by johnnyb on Sept 6, 2013 15:35:19 GMT -8
The wife and everybody tell me that Cilantro is not hot, but you couldn’t tell by me. I always thought they were kidding me.  Joe, the beans sure sound good except for the Cilantro. LOL |
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