Since I am having a lot of great tomatoes this year I decided to put up some diced tomatoes.
Did you know that canned tomato products contain a lot of sodium? Two cups of canned diced tomatoes have around 840 mg sodium. Two cups of my diced tomatoes that I froze have around 8 mgs of sodium.
These are washed and ready to start the process.
I put the tomatoes in boiling water and boiled for 3 minutes . The skins should begin to crack. Then I put them in an ice bath for 3 minutes.
Then I peeled and diced them.
Then I packaged them in quart freezer bags, labeled them with name and date, and froze them for later use .
By CCH Dietitian Mona Van Wart – I loved making this tomato ketchup. I thought it was really fun to do and the end product was fantastic . As I was making the ketchup,it took me back to my childhood when I was a little girl helping my Mom process vegetables from our gardens.
I do not use ketchup as a condiment, but I do have a couple of favorite recipes of my mother’s that uses ketchup as the main ingredient for the sauce. I decided instead of freezing the ketchup as I originally had planned I would make those recipes and then portion and freeze the end products for my lunches.
A pdf version of the recipe can be found on the Health Eating page or by clicking here.
Ingredients
6 pounds tomatoes (about 12 large
tomatoes)
½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup cider vinegar
½ cup balsamic vinegar (I chose the
kind that had 0 mgs. Sodium)
Cayenne pepper (optional)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Wash tomatoes.
Halve the tomatoes, drizzle some olive oil over
them, and place on 1-2 baking pans.
Roast for 20 minutes or until they are soft and
wrinkled looking, but not burnt.
Let the tomatoes cool, and then transfer them to
a blender or food processor and puree until they are smooth. Process in small batches.
In a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, warm
the sugar, keeping it moving with a spoon, for about a minute.
Add the onion, garlic and the pureed roasted
tomatoes. Reduce the heat to
medium-low and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the three kinds of vinegar and continue to
cook for another 30 minutes or until reduced by two-thirds. The ketchup should be thick.
Remove from heat and season to taste with the
cayenne pepper, if desired.
Strain the ketchup through a mesh strainer into a
glass or stainless steel bowl.
To cool the ketchup, fill a large stockpot about
halfway with a mixture of half ice, half water, and submerge the container
in the ice bath to chill. The
ice-water level should come most of the way up the outside of the
container, but don’t let any water into the ketchup.
Stir the ketchup occasionally until the
temperature reaches 70°F on a thermometer.
Then remove the container from the ice bath,
cover and transfer to the refrigerator where it will keep for 3-5 days.
Ketchup can be frozen in small freezer bags or
containers, or I read that it can be put in ice cube trays and then put
them in a freezer container.
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
1 serving = 1 Tbsp
Calories: 8 Fat: 0 g Carbs: 2 g Protein: <1 g Sodium: <1 g
(Comparison – Store bought ketchup)
1 serving = 1 Tbsp Calories: 19 Fat: 0 g Carbs: 4.5 g Protein: <1 g Sodium: 154 mgs
Tomatoes picked fresh from the garden and washed.
Ingredients for homemade ketchup.
Tomatoes cut in half and drizzled with olive oil.
Tomatoes roasting in the oven.
Processing the cooled tomatoes in the food processor until they are smooth.
Processed roasted tomatoes
Warming the sugar
Added garlic and onions and roasted tomatoes (not shown)
Added the three kinds of vinegar and simmered until it was the correct consistency for ketchup
Getting ready to strain the ketchup
Straining the ketchup
Finished product
Cooling the ketchup in an ice bath before refrigerating it.
Barbecue chicken ready for oven made with the fresh ketchup.
Swedish meatballs made with the ketchup ready for oven
I thought my plants might do better outside. So with the help of Kris Mesman, we transferred the plants outside in front of the Health Services Building.
These are my potatoes that I planted in a container. I like small potatoes so I planted 8-10 slices with eye of the potato in a container that was around 18” in diameter.If I had wanted less but larger potatoes I would have planted 4-6 slices of eye of the potato in the container.
My Amish paste tomatoes are looking good. When they ripen , besides making my own tomato sauce this year I think I will try something new- homemade ketchup. My container herbs that I have on my front porch. Rosemary, Basil, and Parsley. More Basil. I think I will be able to make lots of Pesto this year.
I tried a new recipe last night. I thought it was very good. These are the ingredients ready for Chicken and Grapefruit Stir Fry. A pdf version of the recipe can be found on the Health Eating page or by clicking here.
Ingredients
1 grapefruit, peeled
1# pineapple chunks in unsweetened pineapple juice
¼ cup
cornstarch
2 tsp.
sodium reduced, soy sauce
3 Tbsp.
vegetable oil
2 cloves
garlic, minced
1#
boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut across the grain into slices
1 cup
snow peas, trimmed
4
scallions, sliced diagonally
Directions
Peel the grapefruit and cut into
sections, holding the fruit over a small bowl to catch the juice. Drain the pineapple well, reserving the
juice. Put the pineapple juice and
grapefruit juice into a measuring cup and add enough water to equal 2
cups. Add the cornstarch and soy sauce
and stir until smooth.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat
the oil over medium heat until hot. Add the garlic and chicken. Cook until
internal temperature of 165°F. (around 8-10 minutes). Add the snow peas and
cornstarch mixture; stir-fry until the sauce thickens and boils. Add the grapefruit, pineapple, and scallions;
stir-fry until heated through.
With the second attempt, I had an abundance of plants. More than I could use so I have shared them with some staff and asked them to update on how they are doing. I’m also going to try some as container plants in the office.
If he hadn’t
of come here (Calais) I don’t know when I would have gotten this done,” says
Dennis Jones of Pembroke when speaking about his recent cataract procedures. Mr. Jones was the first patient treated by Vision
Care of Maine’s Dr. Curt Young when he began providing cataract surgical services
at CCH last month. Mr. Jones was so pleased with the results he
came back last week for Dr. Young’s second CCH surgical day to have his other
eye completed.
Dennis Jones of Pembroke was the first cataract surgery patient at CCH. He is pictured above with Dr. Curt Young of Vision Care of Maine. Cataract Surgeries are now available monthly at CCH.
Mr. Jones
described a positive experience with the CCH surgical staff and Dr. Young – and
a great outcome of tremendously better eyesight.
Other patients treated last week described very similar experiences:
“Before I even got out of the chair I could see. It was unbelievable. This has opened up a new world for me.” — John Baxter, Eastport.
“I had no vision before and can’t believe how well I can see now. They are an amazing bunch of staff and doctor.” — Richard Petty, Waite.
Along with Dr. Young, community members can expect to see the familiar faces of CCH Surgical nurses caring for them as well. The CCH Surgery Department staff worked diligently over several months preparing for this service and is excited to add cataract surgery to the list of offerings available locally.
“We have found our model of bringing this state-of-the-art surgery
closer to home for our patients invaluable in restoring vision and profoundly
convenient,” stated Cristy Hewitt, RN, Director of Clinical and Surgical
Services for Vision Care of Maine. “Dr. Young and the rest of our physicians
proudly look forward to offering surgical consultations and surgery now in
Calais.”
If you have
questions about the services available in the CCH Surgery Department call
454-9230 or, for information and appointments for cataract services call Vision
Care of Maine directly at 945-6200.
Mona’s plants are progressing nicely and she has prepared her garden for planting time!
Four days after planting life can be seen! When first seeds sprout, prop dome open. When all seeds have sprouted removed dome and place in sunny location.Mona’s getting her garden ready for planting.Mona’s plants continue to show progress at Day 14.