What do you do when you realize you have ordered 20 pounds of Roma tomatoes to drop in one bountiful bulk shipment?

If you’re me, you work on cleaning out the freezer: Remove frozen soups from last year, remove lobster stock, chicken stock, bones awaiting stockage, eat through ice cream, make a plethora of Caipirinhas with that leftover bag of ice… breath.

And realize everything being done is unnecessary as long as one thing holds true: you learn how to can.

When I sat in a planning meeting with our potential farmers for my local Community Supported Agriculture Program in January (I’m not only a client, I’m also the president) a fair blond woman spoke up: “I want canning tomatoes– bulk! Can you give us that?” When the farmers responded with a “why not,” the deal was sealed and the season was underway. I walked away thinking the fair blond crazy, but bulk tomatoes did sound fun, think of all that roasted tomato soup I could make.

But the months passed and the bulk date loomed on the horizon. Was I crazy?! I planned to turn my oven on in some of the hottest days of the year. So I did the only other sensible thing and petitioned the fair blond to teach me to can:

“Well, it’s really easy, you don’t need me to teach you.”

“But I’ve only made apple sauce. That was in the third grade at school with my teacher we used to call ‘Nature Freak’ because JJ stepped on an ant and was yelled at for killing a living creature. I just need some hand holding the first time.”

So as cucumbers stacked up to 10 a week for 3 weeks (and there are only so many cucumber salads a person can happily eat) the fair blond, who will now be referred to as L, and I gathered our cucumbers for a wholesome day of pickling. This to become my re-entry into the world of glass jars beyond my grandmother’s jams.

The pickling went smooth enough, despite the burning vinegar smell that lingered in the air. I was warned a shelf time of at least three weeks and sent home with my 5 jars of pickles. Like any good student, when I returned home I gathered the remainder of the zucchini in my refrigerator and continued to pickle the night away (what else is there to do on a Saturday night in NYC afterall?).

The days were slowly checked off my calendar and I bragged to all my friends about my pickling adventures, promising all tastes of my sure success. Finally time came to pop a jar and I must admit my pickles were delicious. Adding red pepper flakes for a slight bite and coriander seeds for a twist paid off. Soon D and I were having pickle appetizers before every meal. When pickle jar one vanished in less than one week, zucchini jar one was opened as burgers cooked away.

But now is tomato season. After my pickle triumph I was ready to take on the non-pickling world of tomatoes. I found my recipe and plodded on the other night as temperatures dropped, securing the services of D, now known as the great Tomato Skin Peeler.

It is simple really. The hardest part is that the jars must remain submerged in boiling water for 85 minutes, easily avoided if you retreat to another room for a movie. The jars come out and as the night continues each “pop” of a lid brings a smile to your face, knowing you have another quart safe for the winter ahead when you will truly appreciate that reminder of summer.

At the end of the night, just for fun, I pickled 3 small jars of green beans. Afterall, with all those tomatoes a good Bloody Mary is in order as reward… in three weeks.

Canning Tomatoes
Active Time= 1 hour. Inactive Time= 1 hour 30 minutes
Roma Tomatoes
2 tablespoons lemon juice per quart jar
Jars and new canning lids

1) Fill a large stock pot with enough water to ensure quart jars standing upright will be totally submerged, bring to a boil.
2) Bring a smaller pot of water to a boil, sterilize all jars and lids in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove and turn upside down to dry.
3) As equipment is drying, keep boil going (use same pot for next step). Prepare an ice bath and ready tomatoes and jars. Put 2 tablespoons lemon juice in each jar.
4) Blanch tomatoes (submerge in the boiling water) for 1 minute then transfer immediately to ice bath. Once in ice bath, skins should slip off tomatoes easily. Remove skins, core, and any visible bruises from tomatoes. Fill the jars with the tomatoes as you skin and core them. Push down on tomatoes to stuff in as many as possible, making sure to leave a 1/2 inch space at the top of the jar.
5) When all jars are filled, wipe the jar lips clean and cap, securing to finger-tight.
6) Submerge jars in water, standing. Boil for 85 minutes.
7) Carefully remove from water, set on racks to cool overnight. Any jars that do not pop tight should be transfered to the fridge and eaten. You cannot store these jars for long term.

NOTE: There are plenty of books and recipes online for canning if you do not like this one. Compare what is available, have fun and enjoy your reminders of summer all winter long!

This is really a “sweet”kraut and not sauer- or “sour”kraut because in the end, that is what it is: sweet. It is not the traditional sauerkraut that many think of– the kind that comes piled high on hot dogs, a classic Chicago topping– or on the side of a plate at a BBQ. This is Sweet Latvian Sauerkraut.

This is a ‘kraut that is spiked with brown sugar and slow cooked with fruit and vegetables so the natural sugars escape in the cooking. It is the kind of ‘kraut that even if the bag or jar you extrude it from states “ready-to-eat” or “warm and serve” you dare not sit and eat it until it has been subjected to your love for a good few hours.

This is the kind of ‘kraut that stinks up your whole house for days (and eventually your mother will move the cooking process to a portable stovetop in the garage, leaving you craving the smell that usually accompanies the dish). When you are younger still, you will think this dish to be a little too bitter, but you know you must love it, and will always force a little down your throat because it is the dish that your grandmother makes for every family meal, no matter the season. It is a dish that is soul warming, and smells like home. It is the dish your boyfriend will take to work, and when reheated, he will have people salivating around him, begging for a bite, praying for the recipe.

The recipe below is made with kielbasa. It is also a sweet accompaniment to my grandma’s perfect Latvian Pancake. It can be eaten on hotdogs, or hamburgers (in place of carmelized onions possibly). Or, in the preferred method of many in my family: slathered on top of real, good, Latvian bread (or the next best substitute). It is also good with a cold beer.

SWEET LATVIAN SAUERKRAUT
Serves 4. Prep time= 30 min. Cook time= at least 2 hours.
1- 32 oz bag sauerkraut (or equivalent jar)
2 medium-sized carrots, shredded
1 apple or pear (sweet and juicy apple or slightly sour: from fuji to grannysmith), chopped
1 medium white onion, chopped
3 Tbl brown sugar
1 Tbl paprika
½ cup apple cider, apple juice, or beer
1 package (2 12-inch) kielbasa (I used turkey kielbasa for this one)

1) Turn on the broiler and begin to warm a saucepot on the stovetop, medium heat.
2) Put the kielbasa on a pan with juices. Slice down the center. Broil about 10 min or until the top opens, juices bubble, and the skin darkens.
3) While kielbasa is cooking, add 1 Tbl butter to the saucepot. Add onions and sauté 5 min. Add carrots and apple. Sauté 10 min. (Remove kielbasa from oven while this is warming.) Add sauerkraut, brown sugar, paprika. Stir well.
4) Cut kielbasa into bite-sized pieces. Add to pot, stir. Turn heat to medium-low, leave slightly uncovered, allow to cook at least 2 hours. The longer you can stand, the better, allowing the aroma fill the home. Stir periodically. Serve with true hearty and flavorful rye or pumperknickle bread, preferably from Latvia, buttered and toasted.
Note: If you will be cooking this more than two hours, check at least 1 time every half hour. Add more juice if ‘kraut appears too dry.
NOTE: I have received many an angry phone call from uncles and grandma: “Where is the caraway???” Well, I don’t really like caraway in my sauerkraut. But you may add 1-1/2-2 Tbl to your dish.