My day yesterday

A mix of sweet & hot banana peppers, Fiesta bowl full of salad-sized tomatoes that I didn't feel like dealing with yet, lol! My camera battery decided to die before I could photo the Tupperware strainer filled with fresh picked basil.

3 dozen (mostly hybrid varieties, but organically grown) tomatoes, washed and ready for blanching

I'm also growing a small variety of heirlooms, but they aren't close to ripe yet. I've learned the hard way that if I don't plant a fair amount of hybrids, I may not get much of a yield at all. This year has been fantastic for tomatoes so far. I've picked probably 6 dozen so far off about 15 plants.

And here's the Happy Ending picture. 4 jars of refrigerator pickled banana peppers. I threw in some nasturtiums just for color. Also to freak my mom out, who thinks eating flowers is just utterly bizarre. These are in the nifty heritage blue commemorative canning jars, which I think are just the cats pajamas :-)

3 freezer jars of Poor Man's Pesto. I call it that because I'm a cheapskate who makes it out of the regular cheap block of Parmesan cheese. I also use sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts. And whatever kind of olive oil that I have. I'm not a stickler for EVOO. I'm sure I'm committing food blasphemy, but it's a perfectly tasty sin, in my opinion.

And finally, 3 quarts of crushed tomatoes. I've got it figured that a dozen reasonably large tomatoes will yield a quart of crushed tomatoes.

It's humbling to do so much work to only have 3 quart containers to show for it. Well, that and a 1 quart Tang picture full of juice that I forgot to photograph. I don't know what I'm going to do with that yet, but I'm sure I'll come up with something.

I was glad to put so many of my favorite Pyrex bowls to good use. Having kitchen stuff you love definitely takes some of the drudgery out of housework. Also doesn't hurt when your housework tastes good! :-)

Hope you're having a Great Day!