• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Cook's Pyjamas

  • Home
  • Start Here
  • Work With Me
    • Contact Me
    • Disclosure Policy
    • Privacy Policy
  • Recipe Index
    • All the Recipes
    • Kitchen Basics
    • Breakfast
    • Main Meals
    • Salads
    • Soup
    • Side Dishes
    • Slow Cooker
    • 30 Minute Meals
    • Meals From The Freezer
    • Take-out Fake-Out
    • Recipes That Use Leftovers
    • Dessert
    • Baking
    • Snacks
    • Miscellaneous Bits & Pieces
    • Thermomix
    • Preserving the Harvest
  • Resource Library

In My Kitchen – March 2015

March 4, 2015 by tania 18 Comments

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Yummly
  • Mix

IMK Tomato box

I have In My Kitchen this month an almost empty tomato box.  It occurred to me that we are fast coming to the end of the tomato season and I had yet to restock a few staples that I rely on through the year.  So it was now or never.

IMK March ketchup

First up, tomato ketchup.  I normally make this in huge batches that will last the year, but we came to the end of our stash a few months ago. This ketchup is quite different from the ubiquitous thick, gluggy stuff sold commercially, and is a firm favourite of The Princess.

IMK March roasted tomatoes

I had also run out of slow roasted tomatoes, so a large tray of these have now gone into the freezer.  The Princess blends a bag of these tomatoes with a block of cream cheese to make a tasty dip, which also doubles as a sandwich spread.

IMK March tomato relish

Tomato relish is a staple in my cupboard.  It finds its way into ham sandwiches, is great served with zucchini fritters and makes a quick pizza sauce for mini scone pizzas.  It also makes a great dip when mixed with cream cheese.  I use an old family recipe, that is also a closely guarded secret so I cannot share.  Sorry.

IMK March preserved tomatoes

I was down to four jars of whole tomatoes so I used the remainder of the box to fill a few extra jars.  Then it occurred to me that I had no tomato powder left, so now I might need to buy more tomatoes.

IMK March Passata

We also had our annual passata day last weekend.  This year we turned 320kg of tomatoes into sauce, but we  made the effort to drain off more liquid and so ended up with a similar number of bottles to last year.  I am not complaining though, as I have 32 bottles of the most gloriously thick passata now tucked into my pantry for the rest of the year.

PicMonkey Collage

My iPad is also sitting in the kitchen at the moment, loaded up with my new favourite books: Fix, Freeze, Feast: Meals for a Busy Family and Not Your Mother’s Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook. I have been considering The Princess’s after-school schedule for next term, and am beginning to become quite worried about how I am going to fit dinner in amongst chauffeuring duties.

Freezer cooking is a term I have long been aware of but as many of the recipes I had seen differed greatly from my own cooking style I didn’t really pursue it further.  Occasionally I have doubled a recipe to have a meal in the freezer for busy days.  Both of these books have now given me some great ideas about how I can adapt my own recipes for freezing, and I have started to stock the freezer for the coming months.

That is it for my kitchen this month.  Make sure you pop over to Celia’s at Fig Jam & Lime Cordial to see what is happening in other kitchen’s around the world.

Filed Under: In My Kitchen Tagged With: In My Kitchen, tomatoes

Previous Post: « Our Real Food Meal Plan – Week 4 2015
Next Post: Our Real Food Meal Plan – Week 5 2015 »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lizzy (Good Things)

    March 5, 2015 at 5:46 am

    Lots of lovely tomato goodness there, Tania… such a pity that tomatoes are on my ‘banned foods’ list for now. Sigh.

    Reply
    • tania

      March 5, 2015 at 10:04 am

      Thanks Liz. Annoying to find out you can’t eat tomatoes in tomato season 🙁

      Reply
  2. Louise

    March 5, 2015 at 10:19 pm

    Hi Tania!
    I just found your delcious blog on Pinterest after pinning your Slow Cooker Mexican Chocolate Zucchine Cake and becoming your newest Pinterest follower.

    Looks like you have a well stocked kitchen. I’ve been going through my stock of Summer’s bounty quickly this Winter, lol…I needed the reminder that sun will shine soon:)

    Thank you so much for sharing…You are more than welcome to join us for Cookbook Wednesday and link up. That Fix, Freeze Feast book sounds like one I should look into. I froze Strawberry Jam for the first time last year and it is gone!!! I need more:)

    Reply
  3. Jan (A gluttonous wife)

    March 6, 2015 at 5:24 am

    Fant-tomato-astic!! Very envious of your passata weekend Tania, I’d love to do that with a crew in tow!! Cheers, Jan x

    Reply
  4. Nancy @ Plus Ate Six

    March 6, 2015 at 11:12 am

    There’s a glut of tomatoes on the IMK posts this month and everyone is being very creative. I’ve never thought of doing my own jars of tomatoes before.

    Reply
  5. Napoli Restaurant Alert

    March 6, 2015 at 2:22 pm

    Wonderful! TOmatomaniA!

    Reply
  6. Sarah @ Chantille Fleur

    March 6, 2015 at 3:39 pm

    All those beautiful tomato goods make me wish my tiny little tomato seedlings were big and bearing already! Year before last we had so many tomatoes that we bottled lots for cooking and they lasted months, this year I aim to grow just as many or even more again, so that I can try tomato relish too.

    Sarah x

    Reply
  7. Maree

    March 6, 2015 at 5:19 pm

    Beautiful shots of such lovely tomato preserves. Might have to try those slow roasted tomatoes, sounds amazing.

    Reply
  8. Gretchen

    March 7, 2015 at 3:13 am

    Such wonderful tomato goodness you have going on in your kitchen! I recently stocked up on meals in my freezer right before surgery since I knew I wouldn’t be cooking during recovery. those books look like they should come in quite handy for your busy days.

    Reply
    • tania

      March 7, 2015 at 4:58 pm

      Thanks Gretchen. The books have so many different options in them, and I am looking forward to stocking the freezer.

      Reply
  9. sherry from sherrys pickings

    March 7, 2015 at 2:08 pm

    how marvellous to have all those lovely tomato-ey goodies for the coming year. very clever and thrifty of you!

    Reply
  10. Kavey

    March 7, 2015 at 6:19 pm

    Wow, so much delicious tomato preservation! I like to make a slightly spicy tomato ketchup (my grandfather’s recipe), tomato chutney (especially good with underripe green tomatoes) and to freeze whole cherry tomatoes. I’ve never made passata, I don’t use it much in cooking so not sure I’d use it all up. Love that you have the same jars I use – the short jars and tall bottles with hexagonal shape and gold lids!
    Kavey (first time joining IMK!)

    Reply
    • tania

      March 8, 2015 at 2:32 pm

      Hi Kavey. I freeze cherry tomatoes too. I find them great to slip into stews and currys in winter, but we haven’t had a good enough harvest this year for me to freeze any. I like having all the same jars and bottles as they fit into the pantry better I find.

      Reply
  11. Vicki @ Boiled Eggs & Soldiers

    March 7, 2015 at 7:40 pm

    Your passata day sounds like a great idea and all your tomato products look amazing. You have made me want to make zucchini fritters though to have with some tomato relish!

    Reply
  12. Jhuls | The Not So Creative Cook

    March 8, 2015 at 10:58 pm

    Wow! I love what you did with your tomatoes. I love tomatoes, too, and the homemade tomato ketchup is really brilliant.

    Stopping by from IMK,
    xx Jhuls

    Reply
    • tania

      March 9, 2015 at 9:53 pm

      Thanks for stopping by Jhuls. I love homemade ketchup so much I can no longer eat the shop bought one as it tastes too sweet for me.

      Reply
  13. Elizabeth

    March 26, 2015 at 7:17 pm

    Oh there is nothing like tomato goodness 🙂 Sorry it has taken so long, but I am finally getting around to all the IMK blogs for March Just in time for April! 🙂 I too am in tomato heaven, but add in the chilly.. thanks for the tip re semi dried and dip… I’m sure it will taste delicious! Thanks for sharing! Liz xx

    Reply
    • tania

      March 27, 2015 at 2:04 pm

      It is good to know that I have a stockpile in the cupboards Elizabeth. I am also glad to know that I am not the only one that takes ages to move around the IMK world. So many great kitchens to peep in to aren’t there.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Photo of the site owner, Tania.
Hi! I'm Tania!
I love using easy kitchen hacks to simplify my meal making, reduce my cooking time and put healthy meals on the table in a snap. Let me show you how I do it.

Find Meal Times A Burden?

Join My Free Challenge Now.
9 Days. 9 Tips.
A Lifetime of Stress Free Meals.




Latest Posts

thumbnail image showing cropped collage of healthy freezer meals

13 Healthy Meals That Freeze Well

Thumbnail image of a loaf of 5 minute artisan bread.

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day – The Only Recipe You Need

The Most Amazingly Delicious Quick Fish Curry. A simple fish curry recipe for a busy night.

A Quick and Easy Fish Curry in Just 30 Minutes

Footer

Search

Archives

Categories

Copyright The Cook's Pyjamas © 2023 ·