songbird wrote:
wrote:

done well and taste great. i'd like to try some
romas sometime.

Romas are great for salsas and sauces. They have more pulp and less juice.
I use a Roma strainer that removes the skin and seeds so that it gives the
sauce a sweeter taste. Most store bought sauces blend the whole tomato that
seems to me gives the sauce a bitter taste.

starting broccoli from seed?

I have not done this yet, not positive, I think Broccoli is a cool weather
plant. If it fails, oh well, better than letting the soil go bare. I might
change my mind and plant more leaf lettuce... From seed

what kind of peas and beans have you planted?
our peas are Little Marvel and Alaska Early.

Alaskan also for the peas.

Kentucky Wonder Pole beans growing up on a trellis. I have always had very
good luck with these beans. The Japanese Beetle trap thirty feet away seems
to keep them away from the beans. A few years ago those beetles have
stripped the beans in the past. The traps seems to work well and keeps them
off the beans.

I do can some whole
tomatoes but tend to turn the beefsteaks into tomato juice and the Romas
into sauce and salsa. Since it is just me, I go for the pints and I tend to
pressure can all tomato products instead of the Boiling Water Bath.

does it cut down on time without messing up
the flavor or are you more concerned about the
risk of spoiling?

I have done it both ways for canning tomatoes. I cannot taste the
difference and I have rarely had any failures of the Water Bath or Pressure
canning. I like the pressure canner because I do not need gallons and
gallons of water on my small stove and a pain to fill it up. My
All-American pressure canner heats up much faster than the BWB but takes
longer to cool down. Time is a little longer than the BWB by a few minutes.
Since tomatoes are a border line fruit on the PH scale it probably helps on
the food safety issue also.

when she cooks for the families she can use
4-6 quarts at a time. for us we use 2 at a
time (most often for macaroni and tomatoes, in
the middle of winter it is our favorite).

Quarts are way too much for me since I do not cook for a family. One or two
pints are the perfect size for me for soups or chili. I prefer the
standard jars instead of the wide mouth because they are easier to remove
with the jar lifter. I use a bottle brush for cleaning. My hand would have
a hard time in a wide mouth jar also

--
Nad