This is $1.06 worth of roma tomatoes. Imagine what I could do with $5?
But it was a major coup. And this summer when the tomatoes are fallin off the vine and they are a dime a dozen (give or take) at the store, I will buy them up and DRY them to be used in raw marinara sauce all winter long.
I will store these in the fridge in a lidded jar with olive oil and maybe a little salt.
I won't be using garlic and here is why:
Storing Garlic in Oil - Warning! - Not Safe.
It's important to keep food safety in mind when storing garlic in oil. Low-acid foods like garlic can be a source of Clostridium botulinum bacteria which are found in soil, water, and air. Oil's oxygen-free environment is perfect for growth of this anaerobic bacteria. Garlic in oil, therefore, must be stored correctly to prevent botulism food poisoning.
Commercial garlic-in-oil mixtures are acidified to prevent bacterial growth. These products can be stored safely at room temperature. Unfortunately, acidification of garlic in homemade oil mixtures can't be recommended because no research exists to support proper procedures. Different people recommend different methods and time to acidify and it is hard to know who is right. Instead, it's best to store these hazardous oils in the refrigerator, but for a limited time only. This conflicts with the desire for long term storage.
When raw garlic is stored in oil, Clostridium botulinum bacteria can grow. These mixtures must be refrigerated to slow bacterial growth. After 3 weeks of refrigeration, the increased number of bacteria will become a food safety hazard. Therefore, these mixtures should not be refrigerated longer than 3 weeks.
When garlic is immediately removed after flavoring oil, the bacteria will not have a "food source" for growth. The flavored oil can be stored safely at room temperature.
When vegetables or herbs are dried, water will not be available for bacterial growth. Therefore, DRIED vegetables or dried herbs (including garlic) in oil can be stored safely at room temperature. Note. Tomatoes are high in acid. Therefore, plain dried tomatoes in oil can be safely stored at room temperature.
This was found here. it was posted by someone named special k so I'm not sure where they found it. I won't be using garlic, is all.
Then I read this here:
If You make Garlic-in-Oil at Home
You can protect your family's health and reduce the chance of food poisoning by following these rules:
- Prepare garlic-in-oil fresh, and use it immediately;
- It's best to throw away any garlic-in-oil that's left-over. If you decide to store it, make sure it goes into the refrigerator right away, and use it within a week; and
- Never store garlic-in-oil at room temperature. Throw away any that has been in the refrigerator for more than a week.
This I found when I was moving out of my apartment.
Someone had callously dumped it on the sidewalk near my front door. It was dead looking and the leaves were shriveled but I knew it was still alive, so I took it. I put it in the back of the u-haul with all the other junk and when I got here I soaked it in water and put in a nice spot with light. It immediately started to puff up all of its shriveled leaves and the start to put out green shoots and leaves all over! Even the broken branches that I had tossed in the bottom started rooting and growing.I love jade plants and this is a big one. I'm so happy I grabbed it.
This is a sampling of all the deer tracks we see on the side of the road in the morning.
It's some sort of deer super highway or something. There are lots of deer here. I see them right in the yard every day. When we drive the car we have to be on the look out for them, they are everywhere, even right in the road sometimes. You have to stop and they don't respond to honking, but if you rev the motor they get spooked and run off. Whew. I do NOT want to hit one of those things. No way, no how.
Here is this morning's view of the lake. They say it will snow this weekend. Maybe.
I hope it doesn't because we are supposed to go to the cat rescue and see about meeting a cat we like. There be mice here.
3 comments:
The peppers look delish! And cats are the best way to get rid of mice. Mice can smell the cats and won't even come in the house!
Funny - I've had a dehydrator for months, but for some reason I never thought of drying tomatoes -- instead I'd buy "sun dried" tomatoes, which probably aren't even actually dried in the sun. Makes so much more sense to do it oneself!
Did you marinate the tomatoes in anything before you dried them? Or just cut them up and dehydrate them?
Beanie, the peppers were quite good. And thinking it over I think a cat is the best way. I don't want to deal with trapping mice in any of its incarnations... I either want a mature cat or a couple of littermates that could keep each other company while they are in the run around crazy and need attention all the time stage.
Deirdre, I didn't put anything on them. Roma tomatoes, cut in half and dried with the skins on. You can store them with oil and spices, salt, etc in the fridge or you can freeze them just like they are in ziplock baggies.
Post a Comment