Fwd: Simple Times - 09/05/09 - Using up tomatoes; quotes for tough times

[Guest guest]

I've been churning out tomato sauce as fast as I can this summer, lol. What i do-I put a bunch of whole tomatoes in my two crockpots on low heat for 3-4 hours. When they are soft, I turn off the crockpot, and let them cool. I use a potato masher and press down the tomatoes to get as much liquid as possible out of the tomatoes.

 

Then I put the resulting tomato pulp in my Roma food strainer. I'm not one to get a bunch of unnecessary kitchen gadgets, but I love the foodstrainer. I get a high quality, seedless pulp that I then put into containers and freeze. After that, it is a simple process to make spaghetti sauce, chili, stew, or soup. I tried MANY different ways to process tomatoes, and I like this method best, by far.

 

I've also been drying tomatoes in my dehydrator. I have some "sundried" paste tomatoes, plus dried sliced that I grind up so I can use the powder like tomato paste.

 

Anyone else have any fun tomato recipes or tips?

 

Cyndi

 

 

 

 

Simple Times - 09/05/09 - Using up tomatoes; quotes for tough times

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Simple Times

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Vol. 11, No. 10 -- September 5th, 2009

http://www.simplemom.com

DSimple

Copyright 2009 Deborah Taylor-Hough

ISSN: 1527-1269

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Celebrating more than a decade of saving your time, money and sanity!

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IN THIS ISSUE:

-- "Dear Readers":

-- Simple Living Quote

-- Garden Spaghetti Sauce: Using Those Extra Tomatoes

-- My Autographed Books on eBay

-- Quotes Worth Reading in Tough Times

-- Letters to the Editor / Reader Tips

-- Assorted Information (archives, etc.)

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< < < O.U.R S.P.O.N.S.O.R > > >

 

Tupperware® Online Catalog

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Dear Readers,

 

It's been a long time since I've sent out an issue of Simple Times.

Sorry for the delay! Life's been "happening" to me and my family,

so I'm afraid the newsletter took a backseat to other, more pressing

matters.

 

You may remember that I was working part-time at my church as

the Outreach Director. Sadly, that job ended this July and I've been

essentially unemployed ever since. Since I was working for a non-profit

organization, I don't qualify for unemployment, but the church provided

me with a severance package that has helped tremendously during this

transitional time in my life. Thank goodness for generous and kind

employers! Those severance funds aren't never-ending, however, and

I'm beginning to see the bottom of the barrel, so if you think about it, I'd

really appreciate your prayers and kind thoughts.

 

On another personal economic front, due to my needing to switch to

a different publisher followed by the downturn in the economy, my book

royalties have dribbled off to virtually nothing. So I don't even have that

to fall back on anymore during this time of unemployment. When it

rains, it pours.

 

It's interesting how life can change so suddenly, isn't it? I thought I

knew what at least the next couple of years in my life were going to

look like (working at the church, mainly). But now I'm at loose ends

with a big unknown future looming before me.

 

Someone once told me that the Chinese figure for the word "crisis"

is a combination of the words "danger" and "opportunity". That's what

I feel like I'm facing right now ... a dangerous opportun

ity. There's the

opportunity for a whole new world to open up for me, but it's also a

dangerous time with numerous potential dangers lurking. This crisis

isn't a bad thing, necessarily. Just unnerving and a bit unsettling. But

exciting, too. Almost like heading off on an adventure to parts unknown.

 

I've really missed publishing Simple Times and I hope to restart the

newsletter once again, at least sending it out semi-regularly. Maybe

just once-a-month for now, but at least I'd like to start the dialogue

going with all of you again. I've missed my readers' notes and feedback.

 

You're all the best!

 

Simply Yours,

 

Debi

(Deborah Taylor-Hough)

Editor, Simple Times Email Newsletter

--Author of the popular Frozen Assets series; A Simple Choice: A

practical guide for saving your time, money & sanity; and Frugal

Living for Dummies®

--Editor, Simple Times and Bright-Kids email newsletters

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Visit my simple living blog!

http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com/

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SIMPLE LIVING QUOTE

 

"I take a simple view of living. It is, keep your eyes open and get on with it."

 

--Sir Laurence Olivier

 

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GARDEN SPAGHETTI SAUCE: USING THOSE EXTRA TOMATOES

Copyright

Deborah Taylor-Hough

Used with permission. All rights reserved.

http://frozenassets.wordpress.com

 

 

Do you have an over-abundance of tomatoes right now? It seems

like just about anyone with a garden has their tomatoes all come

in at the same time.

 

If you’re looking for a simple and delicious way to use them up before

they go bad, try this tasty marinara/spaghetti sauce.

 

 

GARDEN SPAGHETTI SAUCE

Makes about 4 pints

 

Ingredients:

 

6 pounds (15 – 18 medium-size) fresh ripe tomatoes or 4 large

cans (28-oz. each) whole tomatoes, drained

1/4 cup olive oil

3 large onions, coarsely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 Tbsp sugar (or honey)

salt and pepper (to taste)

 

 

Instructions:

 

1) To peel fresh tomatoes, dip fresh tomatoes in boiling water to cover

for ten seconds. Core and peel. Chop fresh or canned tomatoes.

 

2) Pour olive oil into large frying pan; add onions and garlic; cook over

medium heat, stirring frequently, until onions are golden brown (about

15 minutes). Add chopped tomtatoes and basil. Cook uncovered, stirring

occasionally, for about 45 minutes. Add sugar (or honey), salt and pepper.

 

3) Ladle sauce into four 1-pint canning jars or freezer containers. Be

sure to=2

0leave at least 1-inch headspace to allow for liquid’s expansion

during freezing. Cover tightly. Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week, or

in freezer for up to 1 year.

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

--Deborah Taylor-Hough is the author of several books including Frozen

Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month and Frugal Living for

Dummies®. You can visit Debi online at: www.simplemom.com

 

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..

MY AUTOGRAPHED BOOKS ON eBAY

More books -- new and used -- coming soon!

 

 

Debi's Current Book Auctions:

 

Frozen Assets: Cook for a Day, Eat for a Month

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem & item=250493130952

 

Frugal Living for Dummies®

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem & item=250493133366

 

A Simple Choice: A practical guide for saving your time, money & sanity

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem & item=250493138633

 

Mix and Match Recipes: Creative ideas for busy kitchens

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem & item=250493136738

 

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QUOTES WORTH READING IN TOUGH TIMES:

 

I have these quotes on the sidebar of my personal blog, but I find that

this is a good time to keep them front and center in my life and not just

somewhere to glance at out of the corner of my eye. I believe reading

and rereading inspiring quotes can be quite ... um ... inspiring. ;-)

~Debi (my personal blog: http://dsimple.wordpress.com )

 

 

"Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small

ones. When you have finished your daily task, go to sleep in peace.

God is awake."

--Victor Hugo

 

 

"Each player must accept the cards life deals him. But once they are

in hand, he alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win

the game.â€

--Voltaire

 

 

"Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner

would not miss."

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

"Give us the strength to encounter that which is to come."

--Robert Louis Stevenson

 

 

"Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up

and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch

and work: You don't give up."

--Anne Lamott

 

 

"Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it."

--Lewis Carroll

 

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Feel free to forward this newsletter to

your family and friends. :-)

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR / READER TIPS

We'd love to hear YOUR tips and ideas for simplifying daily life.

Send your simple living comments and tips to: DSimple

 

 

Re: Cooking for the freezer in cartoons?

I was watching the cartoon, Futurama, with my teens on television the

other day and one of the characters said as she was parting from another

"I'm going home to cook a month of meals and put them in my freezer."

I thought of you.

--Lynne T., Seattle WA

 

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SIMPLE TIMES RECOMMENDED BOOKS

Book list for frugality and simple living

Go to: http://snurl.com/simplebooks

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As always, a special "Thank you!" goes out to Gary Foreman

and the friendly folks at The Dollar Stretcher for making this

mailing list possible!

 

== http://www.stretcher.com/ ==

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EDITOR'S BOOKS AND RESOURCES:

Books and resources by Deborah Taylor-Hough

Editor, Simple Times Email Newsletter

http://snurl.com/debisbooks

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DEBI'S ON-LINE RESOURCES:

Website: http://w

ww.simplemom.com

Personal Blog: http://dsimple.wordpress.com/

Frugality/Simplicity: http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com

Cooking Ahead: http://frozenassets.wordpress.com/

Bright-Kids: http://brightkids.wordpress.com

Tupperware®: http://snurl.com/DebiTupperware

Kids' Books: http://snurl.com/books4kids

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NEWSLETTER INFORMATION

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Copyright 2009 Deborah Taylor-Hough. .

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