A Child Of Atom

Kid Flash's sister in law gave me a TON of green tomatoes when we were visiting last weekend. I spent my first few days back in the city on a massive quest for Mason jars (detailed here). I mean really... Mason jars? How hard can it be? In the end I ended up with "designer" jars from The Container Store that cost me for 4 what I would have paid for a dozen in the south. A small price to pay for green tomatoes in the heart of winter though.

A few of them had begun to ripen, so I decided to set those aside and let them continue that process. I'll be eating them in sandwiches for the rest of the week I'm sure. I'm using a simple water bath method, not a pressure cooking method so it is pretty simple, and doesn't require any special equipment. BFE Michelle gave me some green tomatoes that she had packed in this same method last year and they fried up deliciously.

I ended up with FOUR quarts!! One of these jars will be more than enough for a meal. I'm thinking Thanksgiving? Frankly I'm not sure they'll last that long.

Unfortunately all four quarts wouldn't fit in the pot, but there's no problem with processing them in batches I guess.

Aren't they pretty? When I was growing up my great-aunt Annie had a long trestle table in her kitchen that seated what seemed like 15 or 20 people. The whole long wall that ran behind that table was floor to ceiling shelves that were filled with Mason jars bearing a bounty of jams, pickles, preserves, sauces, soups, and vegetables. I will forever associate that sight with a well stocked kitchen. The colors and textures of all those jars was always a beautiful thing to behold. My four little jars don't compare, I know, but this is the first time I've attempted something like this and I'm still pretty proud of myself.

P.S. I just heard the first 'plink' from the kitchen as the jars cooled and the seals popped into place, followed in rapid succession by two more! My jars are all sealed and happy.