This year we had decided that once we bought the chest freezer, and were able to fit all our frozen garden produce in our own house, we did not need to rush to cook and can everything immediately. Josh had the intention of cooking up all the tomato pulp over Christmas vacation and making a big batch of pasta sauce, but somehow we got busy. Instead, every few weeks, Josh took out a bag and made a batch to last a week or so, and leftover sauce was frozen until the next time. We have had a steady stream of pesto, tomato sauce, chili and pizza sauce as needed, and my supply of frozen tomato pulp is holding out nicely. I also have been tapping occasionally into the few bags of frozen beans I put aside. Not many lovers of cooked long beans in my house, so I have been mostly using those for myself.
The one thing I have not touched yet is the bucket of pickles. For a couple of months, my laundry room had a definite sulfurous smell. We consulted with my neighbour Iulia about whether the salt content was sufficient, and whether the smell was normal. She felt that everything appeared as it should. I suppose it was from the fermenting cauliflower in the mix. Other friends of mine who have made mixed pickles have generally sealed them in glass jars, so no odour escapes. Eventually, my laundry room lost the smell, but we were leery about opening the bucket. We will get there, and I will tell you how it turned out.
We still have plenty of hot sauce and Chow Chow pickles, which we are slowly making our way through. Josh wisely froze some of the hot sauce because we noticed that once it is close to a year old, it does start to go bad unless you can it and seal it. So far there has been no freezer burn.
The tomato sauce produced from last year's harvest has been far superior to the previous year, and I believe that my refusal to include all the tomatoes which ripened after picking in October made a huge difference.
I have been dreamily perusing my Vesey's seed and bulb catalogues, then looking out through the frost coated windows at my snow covered yard (sigh) and wait for spring.
