My apologies for the gap in posting. I had high hopes that my posting frequency wouldn’t change after having a baby, but I guess I had forgotten how much time a baby commands. Plus anytime I do pick up the camera it’s usually to point it toward the baby instead of the garden, however I have been able to veer slightly to the left and the right of the baby to show you that we are still alive and kicking, although I still haven’t made it outside with the camera yet.
We were pretty sure that the tomatoes were going to eat us alive. After a long cool summer our tomatoes finally starting ripening and once they started, it was never ending! After already canning something like 24 quarts of tomato sauce, we brought in this box to make more sauce, soup for a friend who recently gave birth too, and ketchup, our first year making that, but it’s so good! We will certainly value the four quarts of it we put up over the winter with hash browns, french fries and of course grass fed hamburgers.
A certain three year old turned four a few weeks back. During the last year of preschool, he developed a habit of painting a watercolor rainbow every single day. I have a fantastic stack of rainbow paintings that I hope to frame in a collage frame soon. In the meantime, he needed to have a rainbow cake.
Certainly there was absolutely nothing natural, locally grown, or organic about this cake, but hey, look at those colors! It brought a huge smile to the birthday boy and he declared the day the ‘best birthday of ever.’
We had our first real rainstorm this past weekend so we sent the boys out to pick the last of the tomatoes. What a great activity that kept them busy for at least an hour. There was great excitement every time they ran back into the house, ‘mom you aren’t going to believe it but we need another bowl!’
Our six year old, being in a serious counting phase was convinced that there must be over a hundred tomatoes there. Immediately to prove his point, the counting began (in tidy rows of ten – ahhh that boy of mine), he hit 64 before he got bored:
During the rainstorm what else is there to do besides make yet more tomato sauce and pies? Both apple pie and potimarron pie.
Oh, and what’s that down there? Baby feet, sporting hand knit booties my grandma made for me when I was a baby. So sweet!
Maybe for the next post I’ll actually head back out into the garden, being that this is a gardening blog and all. We have rows upon rows of winter sprouts coming up that I’d love to share with you.
How are you? How have you been?
All I had was cherry toms this year, and I managed to oven roast four pints of them and store them in olive oil for winter pasta additions. I’m so curious about your ketchup. I made my own first batch this year, and it is definitely interesting, but my kids don’t totally love it. Where did you find your recipe? And how would you describe its taste? Is it sour, sweet, spicy?
I am jealous of your tomatoes! I am a city dweller unfortunately, and plans to move onto a couple of acres are 2-3 more years off. I garden at a friends a couple of miles from my house and last year had an amazing crop of heirloom tomatoes. This year, he planted something in the spot I used and the area I planted in this year produced nothing. (It fell into shade in the afternoon…I guess they didn’t get enough sun!) Could you post your recipe for ketchup…so I can try it next year!
LOVE your photos….and the cake is genius:)
Great to see you back to blogging. I am a Sonoma resident too, but have not had such a great bounty this year, although I am still harvesting tomatoes.
The sauce looks great as does the tomatoes. That cake is so pretty! So do all the pies.
My tomatoes got blight this year. My first time with that. Ugh!
Would love to have your ketchup recipe…
(Booties are darling. How special that they were yours. I love that you kept them.)
We’ve been busy too. Life with 2 boys keeps me on my toes! My baby is 1.5 already which I find astounding. I haven’t been able to keep up with our garden blog much. I have a habit of taking a million garden photos (which, I think, is my favorite part of blogging) and then never finding the time to go through them and organize a post!
Nice to see a new post from you
That cake looks like something out of a 4 year old’s technicolor dream! Love it. Do share a link if you have one (you know, just for fun haha)
I am a relatively new visitor to A Sonoma Garden. I am glad to see a new colorful post. Would enjoy seeing the winter veggies you are growing. The cake is beautiful. My rainbow drawing son would be thrilled to have a cake like that one!
How funny. I have my old salad spinner loaded with peppers and yours is loaded with tomatoes.
It seems I missed the new baby post until now and my congratulations are belated but no less happy for you and your family. Her little bootied feet are perfect. And that rainbow cake! It’s delicious just looking at it but it’s the ketchup I want to make. You’ve inspired me that there still may be time to get it done this year.
first off – LOVE those little feet
Ok, let’s talk about that awesome cake! You are mommy of the year – so cool
Share the ketchup recipe – yummy
We LOVE our ketchup – i’d like to try making some – I have some tomatoes just waiting to be made into ketchup 
See you soon
Please, please post your ketchup recipe. I do lots of canning and I have never had luck with the ketchup. How long does it last after you open it up?
Hi Evelyn, My husband just sort of winged it. This is the first year we’ve made it, so we’re still experimenting. I’ll ask him though and try and work a recipe out of him!