Certainly we cannot find the tomato wanting in its effort to supply us with the bounty. So what stops us from making good on our blessings? Why are cans of glistening tomatoes not showing up in pantries all throughout the Northwest? This resistance not only defies logic but the virtues of gratitude and good stewardship as well.

I have imagined how much money we would infuse in our local economy, and how much fossil fuel we would save, in the simple effort of putting up quantities of tomatoes sufficient to get us through the winter. Without calculating the extenuating costs of food preservation (jars, canning pot, fuel to boil water, etc.), the casual answer is lots.

We would help local farmers and our backyard gardening friends, reduce fossil fuel costs inherent in large-scale agriculture, and enjoy the benefits and flavor of our own home-canned tomatoes throughout the year. And what, I ask you, can you not do with a jar of tomatoes?

On many days and nights throughout the year I reach for canned tomatoes as the start of my meal. They are turned into soups, stews, sauces, chili, salsas, chutneys, and more. They are made simple or divine by recipe, intention and a bit of luck, but they are always solid in their pedigree—they hail from the backyard.

Since I grow food in consideration of my preserving fancies, plum (or Roma) tomatoes are always in my garden. It is an indulgence of space given the abundance I speak of, but I am in love with playing the farmer (not to mention the farmer’s wife). You can find me on most dog-day mornings with a hoe in one hand and a cooking pot in the other. I blanch, peel, chop and can freshly picked tomatoes in the same backyard they are grown in, having determined that outdoor kitchens are a must in the hot summers of Oregon.

Instead of offering recipes for cooking with canned tomatoes, I offer the how-to for getting them in the jar in the first place. Since I consider plum tomatoes the most versatile for cooking, I specify them in the instructions, but you can use whatever variety you happen to have.

Remember, if you hear a small rapping at your back door come mid-September, it could be someone with a bushel of babies looking for a good home. Just be kind, and can.

TOMATOES ON ICE
Should you be short on time and inclination, consider storing your cooked tomatoes in the freezer. Leave space for expansion—one inch for a wide neck jar and one and one-half inches for a narrow neck jar. Close the jar with the lid and freeze. Canning jars are tempered; other jars, such as those mayonnaise comes in, are too fragile to use. Plastic containers also work well. Unlike with canning, adding seasonings or even preparing the final product beforehand is acceptable with freezing. But do consider space. You might not want 40 pints of anything sitting in your freezer.

Harriet Fasenfest and her partner Marge Braker teach classes in home food preservation at Preserve. Visit portlandpreserve.com.