Sum-sum-summatime and the garden is bountiful! I can’t stand to see all the yummy goodness go to waste. While I’m shoving garden tomatoes into my mouth at ever opportunity, there’s no way I can eat them all. So I’m also doing my best to capture summer’s goodness in a jar. This week I made tomato sauce. And there’s not doubt in my mind that I will be repeating this for the next several weeks!

Beautiful Hungarian Hearts (notice their distinct heart shapes) and Clanton Creek Mistress (darker red to purple) tomatoes. Sorry for the dark photo…

Washed, cut into pieces and in the pot with a little olive oil and garlic.

Cue the basil! This is the Dark Purple Opal variety we still have TONS of! [Note: If you would like some fresh basil, just say the word!]

After the tomatoes cooked down on the stovetop, I transferred the sauce to the blender for a spin.

After the blender, the sauce is nice and smooth and smells amazing!

This is my first try at canning in a pressure cooker, a recent gift from my grandmother. Ben has wanted one of these contraptions for years and was thrilled when the UPS guy brought it to our doorstep!

The only drawback is we have to use these smaller pint jars, only four at a time, in the pressure cooker. The quart jars are too tall and the lid of the pressure cooker won’t go on!

But it worked! And much less mess, less water, less labor intensive than hot water bath canning! I need more pint jars.