Yesterday

Yesterday I had a date with my friends Francine and Jeff who live on a farm on the other end of my street in another state. They have chickens, tomatoes and maple trees which they harvest for maple sugar. They have dogs and cats rhubarb and herbs and they both love to cook.

Francine told me to show up at 11 AM, we eat a late breakfast instead of lunch, she said. I was to arrive for a lesson in how to can tomatoes.

Their kitchen has a big turquoise tile countertops with an island just like Julia Child's cooking show. I sat on a high chair in my white striped dress and watched.

First Francine harvested a bunch of tomatoes from their expansive garden. "I like to have enough for 5 quarts. First she baked the jars to sterilize them. then she boiled the tomatoes just enough to peel them after dropping them into cold water to fast cool. Then she placed them using a wide mouth funnel, into the wide mouth sterilized quart jars."Make sure the air is out of the jars or they will crack."

She cleaned the mouth of the jars and sterilized the lids in boiling water for ten minutes. "Don't boil them or the rubber will melt, I've done that!" she said. Just place into boiled water for ten minutes. Then place the lids on the jars and gently screw on the tops. Place all of the lidded jars into a hot water bath to boil for 25 minutes. Then let them sit on the counter overnight or 24 hours. You might hear pop pop as they seal. The next day tighten the outer lid bands and label the date with a sharpie. Don't reuse the sealing lids.