The days tomato haul.  At this rate, it will be sauce making again by the weekend.

Oh, and yes, I am harvesting a tad early and letting most of them counter-ripen. I noticed most of the maters I let vine ripen are being nibbled by something.

 

The garden this morning is like "Oh, you made all your tomatoes into sauce?  Oh, that's cute!  Here's another 15 pounds to keep you company".

"While you are at it, it's time for another harvest of the herb bed.  Get cracking Sonny!".

Tomato water?

This year I am making tomato sauce from our garden via the 'freezer method'.  It's very simple indeed.  As you pick tomatoes and they ripen, core them and cut into chunks. Put the chunks in a freezer bag and pop it into the freezer.  As more tomatoes ripen, drag the bag out and add the new tomatoes before freezing again. If the bag is full, start a new one. When there are enough frozen tomatoes, make sauce!

We leave skins on since we are blending our sauce before canning.  Lot's of flavor is lost when skins are removed.  The same with seeds, which don't bother us at all.  If one does not like skins nor seeds, a peeling step can be added in.

The freezing process ruptures the tomatoes cell walls, releasing the water that must otherwise by cooked off.

This is a great method for the home gardener who has a steady supply of ripe tomatoes but not enough on any given pick to make sauce that day.  Before this year I always bought in our Roma sauce tomatoes by the half-bushel, but this year I decided it's all coming from our own garden.

Last night I pulled four gallon freezer bags of mixed tomatoes and put them in the sink to thaw. That was enough for one good pot of sauce.

This morning I strained the tomatoes, separating the accumulated water from the tomato meat.   AKA.... 'Tomato Water'.  Before I tossed this sorta golden looking stuff, I looked it up to see if it had a use.  Well!  Who would have guessed?  'Prized by chefs as Liquid Umami, and used in dressings, sauces, soups, bread, and even as a cocktail mixer'.  So I tasted the stuff.  Oh My Indeed.  Rich, salty without salt, and deeply flavored. Like sipping summer from a spoon.  The salty or savory taste in tomato water comes from free glutamate, an amino acid that triggers umami receptors, which the brain often interprets as saltiness.  To think I had been ready to throw this out!

So, as I hot water bath canned five quarts of our own plain tomato sauce, I added three pints of tomato water to the bounty*.  Just like the sauce, the tomato water got a pinch of citric acid before canning.  That brings the acidity into safe levels for water bath type canning methods.

I suspect this will take some of our meals and kick them up a notch or two.

*  The USDA states it is not safe to can Tomato Water.  The only reason they give is that they have not supplied us peons with a recipe for that, so OBVIOUSLY it is FORBIDDEN.  Do as your will, and your mileage may vary.

 

 

Dew Point thresholds. Posting this to save it.

 

Comfort Thresholds by Dew Point

Meteorologists and health experts use specific dew point ranges to categorize comfort levels. These thresholds remain consistent regardless of the outside temperature. 

Dew Point Range	Comfort Level	Physical Sensation
Below 50°F (10°C)	Dry / Comfortable	Air feels crisp; sweat evaporates instantly.  Very low dew points (<40°F) may feel harsh or dry out skin.
50°F – 55°F (10–13°C)	Pleasant	Ideal for most people; moisture is barely noticeable.
55°F – 60°F (13–16°C)	Noticeable	Air begins to feel slightly humid; "sticky" evenings may occur.
60°F – 65°F (16–18°C)	Muggy / Uncomfortable	Distinctly humid; sweat evaporation slows; physical activity feels more strenuous.
65°F – 70°F (18–21°C)	Oppressive	Very muggy; air feels heavy; significant difficulty cooling down.
Above 70°F (21°C)	Tropical / Dangerous	Extremely oppressive; sweat barely evaporates; high risk of heat stress during exertion.

Words have meaning.

'Authoritarian regime that prioritizes the State above the individual. It features a centralized autocratic government under a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, forcible suppression of opposition, and contempt for democracy, and individual rights'.

Who or what does this remind you of?

'Political philosophy centered on the protection and enhancement of individual freedom, rights, and autonomy. It prioritizes the individual over the collective or state, emphasizing liberty, consent of the governed, equality before the law, and limited (or appropriately constrained) government power'.

Again, who or what does this remind you of?

Word for word, one is the accepted definition of Fascism, and the other Liberalism.  Now, match the meaning of the words to people's actual actions and not their rhetoric. 

And..... after a bit of thought, this may be the last 'Think' post I do.  My thinks are just that, mine, and I'm not to be bothering other people with them.

8-8-26 Sunday meme dump

 W: 316.6           BS:  107

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8-7-26

 W: 316.6        BS: 108

8-6-26

 W: 318.0        BS: 88

Ouch all round.

Leftover Gazpacho in the fridge.  Fresh tomatoes on the counter needing used NOW.  So, create a pasta sauce or a tomato bisque?  Maybe both.

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First pick of the day. Just passing by as I was taking out the trash.

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8-5-26

 W:  315.0          BS:  94

Lower back is screaming this morning despite a muscle relaxer last night and this morning.  What gets done gets done.  That may not be much.

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Congresscritters and hot dogs....

What would you say are the most favorable reasons to vote for a senator or congressman?

Yes, I know there are constitutional guidelines, but they really are nothing but minimum qualifiers.  It's like.... BarS hot dogs.  Sure, they are 'Hot Dogs', but are they anything you want to eat while sober?

A few points I'd like to see in candidates:

• 30-40 years old, or older, but hard cap at 70.  Long enough to possibly have gained perspective on life.
• Has had some form of meaningful career, either working for someone or having people working for them.  A military career that involves managing people counts.  Bonus points for a service career as well as a civilian career meeting a payroll.
• Is able to *demonstrate* a history of respecting our form of government.  Wanting to work on it is okay.  Wanting to destroy it is not okay.
• An understanding that morality and legality have no intersection.
• Is able to pass weekly drug tests, and no signs of excessive recreational drug/alcohol use.
• Demonstrates an ability to discuss without animosity, an ability to define what their words mean, and a willingness to hear and consider other opinions besides their own.
• Does not owe any allegiance to any other nation or group over that of the citizens they want to represent.

I understand all this is unreasonable to expect from any modern politician.  Still, a man can dream.

8-4-26

 W: 315.0            BS: 110

Back spasms.  What must be done will be done.  Yay Ibuprofen!

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Random thought.  Fauci has an Autopen pardon that protects him from federal prosecution for all his crimes up to a certain date.  But, probably not from state prosecutions. I imagine that would be a major slugfest.

But... what about civil suits?  With the evidence of his diary in hand, can people significantly wronged go after his millions as compensation?  Think... all those doctors, nurses, military personnel, government employees,  all fired for refusing an experimental drug that Fauci now admits the truth about.

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From Fauci's diary we learn he was good friends with CNN's Tapper and Bash, two key news anchors that covered him and his work. 'Going out to dinner and texting jokes about Republicans' kind of friends.

My question today is, should CNN, Tapper, or Bash have revealed that when they reported on Fauci?

Should any network or news anchor reveal their personal relationships with people they report on as a matter of ethics?

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8-3-26

 W: 317.0        BS: 104

Little sleep, much hurt, much to do. Make it work.

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That Lodge griddle I polished and seasoned well.   Seems to have done it some good.

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