Tomatoes and Heat

Our tomatoes are still quite stunted, but are finally beginning to look promising. In the meantime I have been hitting farmer's markets in an attempt to find some locally grown tomatoes for canning. A friend of mine joined me in my quest and together we hit paydirt! I bought 4 boxes (half-bushel boxes), and she bought 1. These were #2's, but the price was right ($12/box). My morning began just after 5, and we started working feverishly to get them all canned. The end result (after 12 hours of work), is 50 qts and 12 pints of beautiful locally grown whole tomatoes.

Of course, in this heat we would not be able to do this all in the house. It was 104º today with a heat index of 107º! Bob set up the canopy for shade, and we were blessed by a nice breeze. This is my "summer kitchen". Bob has his smoker blazing and the propane burner powers our water bath canner. Under the patio sits my propane grill. It is called the "Outdoor Kitchen" since it has a burner, the grill, a sink, and food prep area. When hurricane Rita hit we were able to prepare and provide food for friends and neighbors without electricity by using our summer kitchen; but mostly we use it to avoid turning on the oven during the heat of the summer.