Stephen is more than willing to help out…he found a more efficient way to crank out the juice a few years ago – isn’t he clever?When I was married close to 14 years ago I was introduced to a new meal, macaroni and tomatoes. This consists of elbow macaroni noodles and tomato juice, yep that’s all folks. Usually always served with random condiments, cheese (my favorite), hot sauce, lots of salt and black pepper, cayenne pepper, etc. Shh, don’t tell Stephen but he likes to add a “secret” ingredient – a Tbsp of butter. If I didn’t try it myself I think I would be skeptical of all of this. Apparently this meal was served to the Bruce Parker family often, and before that the Fred Parker family. I learned that when times were plentiful, hamburger was added to the concoction. I also quickly realized, all of those years ago, that I would need to become a canner to fill my husband’s tummy with love.
Stephen has anxiously helped me introduce this food to each one of our children. He is thrilled to report that every single one of them love it and want to eat it at least one a week! (We are sure JT will follow suite) I periodically quiz them on their “favorites”. All of the kids at one time or another have dubbed this their favorite thing to eat. Alexis swears that if she eats this when she is sick, she will get better! As you can tell, it is also a comfort food. This leads me to my purpose of this entry.
Yesterday, Stephen took a trip down memory lane and had me and Olivia go out to a local tomato farmer’s garden to hand pick our tomatoes – just like his mom. By doing this, we get more bang for our buck. After loading them in the trunk of our van we were proud to report that we had three bushel.
Today, in order to sustain our food supplies, we processed 75 jars of tomato juice! It seems to be a lot, but with the army I am raising we hope to make it through until next year!
Comments:
Dad and Mom Parker said…
Way to go Parkers. We are proud to see the whole family canning. It gives you such a feeling of satisfaction to see all those jars full. This winter you can make many things with tomatoes, soups casseroles, mac and tomatoes also. Where did you get the tomatoes? We love this time of year, a time for preparation.
Sunday, September 07, 2008 7:03:58 AM
Stacie said…
Way to go Jodi! Isn’t it nice to see your shelves fill up with all the colorful foods in a jar! I love this time of year! It is tiring, but very fulfilling!
Sunday, September 07, 2008 9:38:31 AM
Steph said…
I am doing mine Saturday. What a great talent. Thanks Mom! I love macaroni and tomatoes over any other meal, it’s easy, fast, and the whole family likes it. I wonder if any of my dad’s brothers and sisters still eat it like we do. Good blog!
Monday, September 08, 2008 8:47:12 PM
Meg the Gem said…
Go Jodi! I canned peaches last week and so I am expecially impressed w/the 75 jars!! I’ll try out the recipe on my tribe, sounds like a great one for food storage purposes, so simple!
Monday, September 08, 2008 11:38:00 PM
Anne said…
Way to go Jodi! You and Michelle will have to be the favorite daughter in laws! I am just not very good in the canning department with all these moves and things in storage and honestly, I am glad that Kassie gets to eat macaroni and tomatoes whenever we visit Rexburg. I have not been good to follow suit with the mac and tomatoes. It is a wonderful thing to teach the kids. What great memories they will have working along side you. When I grow up I hope to be as good as the great Parker women. So did you have macaroni and tomatoes for dinner that night? Happy Harvesting!
Tuesday, September 09, 2008 12:42:16 PM
Mom Baldwin said…
Way to go Parker family! I am so pleased you have worked so hard together and accomplished such a great task. Having 75 quarts of tomatoes on one’s shelf is wonderful to see and even better to eat when you need some tomato juice. I love macroni and tomatoes, too. My grandmother Belnap fixed them a lot. We had them at our house when I was growing up, too. I do believe they are a comfort food, also. They always make me feel good inside when I eat them. Three cheers for macaroni and tomatoes!!! Long may they be with us!
Monday, September 15, 2008 11:41:50 PM
Pam said…
Canning is one of the best parts of Fall. I always feel a great sense of accomplishment after canning our tomato “crop” into salsa or speghetti sauce. I’ve never just done tomatoes, do you blanch and peel them? It also helps me justify the cost of watering the tomato plants all summer.
Friday, September 19, 2008 9:33:56 PM
Amy Baldwin said…
You are the ultimate homemaker. Hey, will you send me that recipe? Maybe it’s something that my kids would eat.
Friday, October 10, 2008 12:35:02 PM