40 Pounds of Tomatoes

A day off of work and a list of things to do.  Chatting with Melanie on fb and "oh my gosh, 40 lbs, (her CSA share), of tomatoes sitting inside her door."  I could just drive to Duluth, hang out with Melanie and Wally, and can tomatoes.  And while I'm there I could make the granola that was on my list of things to do.  Why not!

 The two seasons in Minnesota are winter and construction.  Highway 61, the only highway in and out of Cook County, will be under construction, in one place or another, for the rest of my life. 

  Good thing I have the day off.

 They're finally coming so our turn can't be long off.

I think all kids love to help especially when it involves real stuff like making food.  Oscar, who would celebrate his 6th birthday shortly, couldn't wait to get involved with getting this granola mixed up.  You can see he takes this job with the serious consideration required.

Seven year old Rowan is not about to be left out of the mixing process.  I'm just guessing that granola is one of the favorite snacks around here.

 So Melanie is blanching, chilling the tomatoes.  I'm peeling and she's quartering before they get dropped in the pot.  Then it's into the jars, capped and into the pressure cooker.

Watch that guage, adjust that temp, watch that guage, adjust that temp, watch that guage...

OK, have a beer and watch that guage, watch that guage, adjust that temp and yes it's after 4:00.

The granola is coming along as are the kidney beans which made it into the pressure cooker, followed by the meat and spices for the chile dinner.

We had all four burners going as well as the oven.  What a fun day in the kitchen with my daughter and grandkids!

After dinner we headed over to the soccer field for Rowan's game.  She did an awesome job in the goal for the first half of the game.  As she got onto the offensive line it was time for me to head up the shore.   Oscar's birthday is just 4 days away, so I'll be back.  Rowan said, "Just four days, Grandma, just four days!"

Wally never tires of throwing, catching, running and kicking a ball.  And I mean any kind of ball!  

Oscar and his buddies had their own unique game of freeze tag going.  Happy boys!  

Four hours on the road for a memory making fall afternoon with family.  So much to be grateful for!

Did you notice there was not one picture of tomatoes in this post?