Despite 2 power outages within just 8 days (one for 14 or 16 hours and
the other for 7 hours) and despite a refrigerator fiasco, I'm still
putting things by and the garden is still going strong this year. I
tell my daughter, "Make hay while the sun shines; who knows what next
year will bring?"

Today, I started by slow-roasting two huge trays of halved cherry
tomatoes. Later, I froze them, in those Ball 1-cup freezer containers,
for later use. I've frozen 6 full trays of them so far (they shrink up
quite a bit after roasting). I just love these and there are so many
great ways to use them and a gazillion recipes. One of my favs is white
bean and slow-roasted tomato "salad" with EVO, garlic and lots of herb
of your choice. I use basil often... especially with a dozen pots of it
on my deck.

Then I blanched and froze the last few pounds of the Bountiful beans
(which I mistakenly thought were Providers). More of other beans are on
the way. I've been picking our pole beans (Blue Lake, Rattlesnake,
Asparagus Long beans, Kentucky) but we've been eating them so far--- not
enough yet to freeze.

And then I made the Old Fashioned Tomato Marmalade from the Small Batch
Preserving book. I have not had tomato marmalade but once or twice
since I was a girl. I remember thinking, when my aunt offered me some,
"eeeew, tomato preserves?". But then I tasted it and could not get
enough. This recipe, which included 5 cups of peeled, cored, roughly
chopped tomatoes, 1 lemon, 2 large oranges and 4 cups sugar, is really
outstanding. I offered it as a mystery jam to my DH but, not having had
it before, he just couldn't place it. He was os surprised when I told
him what it was.

I highly recommend both the recipe and the book (though I've seen some
of you mention the book before). The marmalade is a gorgeous
ruby-colored clear jelly with orange and lemon bits. It's the tastiest
spread I've made so far this year. Any kind of tomatoes are fine. I
had to promise to make more. And even with no added pectin, it set up
beautifully within a couple hours of processing.

Then I made a gluten-free apple cake with the first of our MacIntosh
apples--- my favorite for pies and baking. I tried to puree some raw
apple in my blender (the recipe called for 1/2 cup unsweetened
applesauce in addition to 2 cups finely chopped apples) but I just could
not get the blender to puree it. Maybe the amount was too small (1
apple) but that is why I opted for the blender instead of the processor.
I finally used some store-bought applesauce which was somewhat sweetened
but the cake turned out really good despite that.

Tomorrow, it's more of Barb's delicious B&B pickles, maybe some dill
relish after that, and hopefully something zucchini. I just love these
mediterranean zucchinis. I picked the first two aubergines today---
both the classic eggplant color but the size of large artichokes. These
were planted for a friend. I've tried and tried but have not yet taken
a liking to them.

Egad I am so tired but I feel like I am accomplishing something. But
I'm beginning to worry about running out of lids!

Isabella
--
"I will show you fear in a handful of dust"
-T.S. Eliot