Seriously, I am neither a wheeler, nor a dealer. So, my friends find it comical that I was working so hard at striking a deal with the tomato vendors at the Durham Farmer’s Market. I was on a mission to can tomatoes, and not just 4 jars, either – I was going for the gusto and working towards a tomato stock that would last an Italian grandmother well into the next tomato season.
While to some this might be akin to climbing Mt. Everest, I found the actual steps to prepare and process canning tomatoes to be relatively enjoyable and easy. But, canning does require time and patience (of which I am in short supply) – and a whole heck of a lot of tomatoes. For instance, the first 20 lbs. of tomatoes netted me about twelve pints once I had skinned and seeded them. Oh, Mama mia….
But, that next Saturday, I headed out to the Durham Farmer’s Market and laid down enough cash to put away another 2 dozen pints of tasty redness. I also had to visit two hardware stores to find the requisite jars (no one store seemed to have them in abundance that morning).
Here is the final breakdown:
– 20 lbs. of romas bought at the North Raleigh Farmer’s Market for $20.
– 25 lbs. of romas at the Durham Farmer’s Market for $30. This ended up yeilding far more jars because I saved more of the liquid from the tomatoes than I had in my first attempt.
– 3 flats of Ball pint jars for $33
– 1 large bottle of red wine vinegar for $3
– 6 hours of my time for free
Total Expenditure: $86
Price per pint: $2.39
Price per ounce: 15 cents
That equates to about $4 for the 28 oz. cans that we would normally purchase. I will admit that the price is higher, but after tasting my first jar, I think it’s worth it.
And next year, I doubling production. I may even add another worker.
Locavore Shopping for last week: squash
Locavore Shopping for the previous week: Tomatoes (50 lbs.), peppers, eggplant, lamb, purple heart peas, more peppers, eggs
Percentage of Total Grocery Expenditure (both weeks): 85%
Locavore Dish (One dish composed of 100% locally-sourced ingredients): Pappa Al Pomodoro
Locavore Recipe:
I am always talking about how hard it is to eat a healthy dinner, at home, when 20,000 things are going on…until now. I have canned tomatoes, frozen pesto, and there is always a portion of a loaf of bread in the freezer.
Mario Batali’s recipe for Pappa Al Pomodoro
Triangle Locavore 