Michigan

[chicken grandma]

EeyoreD -
I love Michigan produce and tomatoes is one of my favorites! Roasting the tomatoes before using them makes the flavor POP!

Here is what I do -
1, Quarter large tomatoes and halve roma tomatoes.
2. Lay them on a cookie sheet that has been coated with olive oil.
3. Then I sprinkle garlic powder on them and maybe a tiny bit of ground pepper and I bake them at 300 degrees for about one and a half hours and then check on them each 15 mintues until they are done to my liking. Usually it takes 2-3 hours before I feel they are dried/but not too dry. The sundried tomatoes in the store are too dry for me. I don't drizzle with olive oil (too greasy) and I prefer not to use salt.
4. After they cool on the cookie sheet, I layer the tomatoes on tin foil, place them in a tupperware and freeze. Then all winter long I reach in the tupperware and lift a layer of tomatoes on the tin foil and add them to my cooking.


Here is a great PASTA sauce idea.
Take onions in quarters, bell peppers in halves and tomatoes in quarters. Place on a cookie sheet that has olive oil on it. Sprinke with garlic powder (not salt). Bake for an hour or an hour and a half at 300 degrees. Remove the onions early if they are getting too crispy or dry. Place the roasted veggies in the blender with some fresh basil and puree. Add salt to taste. My kids won't eat jarred sauce any more...........

 

[EeyoreD]

Oh my gosh Chicken Grandma THANK YOU! Those (and the "sauce") sounds amazing!

I agree with you, too, on the sun dried toms in the store. They're like ... overly bitey prunes battered with paper. Ugh. Even if you slice or dice them they're marginally ok for flavor but still awful for eating. And I LIKE raisins and prunes!

You've given me another reason to anticipate my tomato plants. I don't know whether to hate you or thank you. You have no idea how I'm jonesing for a fine MI tomato. Deep breaths, I can make it a few more months.

Besides, I need that time to get a nice chest freezer!

 

[Opa]

Today is going to be a rather busy day around here. Hope will be going to her oldest son's house to pick up her granddaughter, then going to her stepfather's to make sure he takes his medications, then on to her youngest son's to get her other granddaughter. One of my brothers is taking Granny to the ophthalmologist to get her monthly retinal injection while I go to an audiologist for a hearing test.

My hearing has been deteriorating for several years and I had tried hearing aids about ten or twelve years ago. I tried them for 60 days and found that the people I had trouble hearing only mumbled louder. I found the back ground noise kept me from hearing anyone I was talking to and that I was constantly having to adjust them.

Now I really have no choice but to start wearing them again. Closed captioning has helped for pre-recorded television programs but for live shows there is too much delay. Plus constantly having to ask people to repeat what they are saying to me is becoming a real pain. One down side to having my hearing restored is that it will eliminate my excuse for not having done things Hope or Granny have requested.

 

[Brethren49619]

Woke up later than usual and let the dog out. What do I see? SNOW!

... I need another cup of coffee!

 

[Olive Hill]

Another good reason to freeze tomatoes: if you're planning to make sauces, ketchup, etc it will reduce your simmer time considerably. Just blanch, peel and pack them in gallon size baggies and toss them in the freezer. In the fall when you're ready to heat the house up again with canning thaw the tomatoes in colanders in your kitchen sink. As they thaw most of the liquid will drain off. Then proceed with making your sauces and condiments as usual. Because most of the liquid already drained off you don't have to simmer for hours.

 

[Brethren49619]

Welcome Sweetpea. You are a newbie like me! Waving at you from across the state, NW side. My son keeps asking why I don't just buy chicks if I want them that bad. I made an incubator though, and I really want the pleasure of trying to hatch them myself. May take me longer, but hopefully the satisfaction will be worth it.

Roasted tomatoes ...mmmmmm, and the sauce sounds so delicious. I guess with the snow falling this morning puts the whole spring planting schedule into perspective. It's been so many years since I have planted here in Mich, and the weather has been so off this year. It's been hard to keep from planting yet.

 

[Opa]

Another good reason to freeze tomatoes: if you're planning to make sauces, ketchup, etc it will reduce your simmer time considerably. Just blanch, peel and pack them in gallon size baggies and toss them in the freezer. In the fall when you're ready to heat the house up again with canning thaw the tomatoes in colanders in your kitchen sink. As they thaw most of the liquid will drain off. Then proceed with making your sauces and condiments as usual. Because most of the liquid already drained off you don't have to simmer for hours.

Great advice, anything that cuts down on cooking time is a plus. Rather than simmering tomato sauce on the stove, I place it in a large pan and put it in the oven with the temperature set at 200 and the oven door slightly ajar. Moisture cooks off with less risk of scorching.

 

[taprock]

Isn't that like a psychic vampire? She feeds off the negativity? Get some garlic and Holy water. A wooden stake or two... LOL

Unfortunately I know a few.

Almost every family has one of these characters.

Or in my husbands case several.

Anyone what to help me think of a name for the heifer?
I am thinking of Rapunzel, but am open to others.

This is her-

Even though she's not a horse all that came to mind was Beauty.

I also only have two cans of tomatoes left. I did up even more this year than last and still will run out. I am planting the Pricipe Burghese tomatoes for the sun dried again this year. I kind of go overboard with tomatoes. I think I have 6 varieties this year with one being a heritage mix.

Very thankfully the sun is up here and no snow! I feel very sleepy today and really hope the coffee helps!


Oh and

 

[Opa]

Coming up with names for critters is always a challenge. I once had a angus bull calf we named Sir Loin but the only name I can come up with for Farmboy's heifer is "Dinner".

 

[RIRJen]

Quote:

I was checking out craigslist today... There is a person on there selling a pair of black and a pair of partridge silkies for $50 a pair. AND 6 couple a days old chick for $40... I guess I can see the $40 for the 6 chicks, as my silkie normally only lays about 4 eggs a week... BUT, $50 bucks for a pair? Am I the only one who think that is just outlandish?

Ya...some people are just a little...different. lol That's just too much for a pair in my opinion. Because to me a rooster isn't worth more then $10 so that means you're paying $40 for one hen. crazy....