Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard

This week and next we're hosting Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard. We'll miss Robin, but she and "The Italian" are having some much deserved rest and relaxation! We thought it would be fun, first to share something that Belle made for the winter cupboard, and then finish with one of the ways we're enjoying it as the cool winter season comes in.

Garden Vegetable Juice Blend (foodiewithfamily.com)
 

Sorry about the old camera date.

24 pounds tomatoes
1 pound carrots, scrubbed and diced
1 head celery, scrubbed and diced
1 cup diced onions
1 large bunch parsley (stems on)
1 tablespoon sea salt
lemon juice

Wash and core tomatoes. Cut toms into small sized pieces. Add cut tomatoes one cup at a time to stock pot over medium heat. Lightly break it up with a large spoon or potato masher.Continue adding tomatoes and breaking them up after each addition until all the tomatoes are in the pot. Add the carrots, celery onion and parsley to the pot and stir to combine. Raise heat to medium high and bring to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent scorching and sticking. Lower heat and simmer for about 35 minutes, or until carrots and celery are mostly tender.

Position a strainer over a large bowl or another large stockpot. Ladle the vegetables and their juice into the strainer. Return the strained liquid to the stockpot. Juice the remaining vegetables(or process in a food processor or food mill). Strain over the stockpot to remove seeds and peels. If using salt, stir in now.

Heat juice to 190 degrees. DO NOT LET BOIL. Hold at temperature for 5 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to each pint jar and 2 tablespoons to each quart jar. Ladle the hot juice into the jars leaving 1/4 headspace.

Process.

Bloody Mary

1 jigger vodka
4 oz vegetable juice
salt and pepper to taste
dash of hot sauce
(Belle made homemade hot sauce this summer using Dave's recipe. Thanks Dave!)

Dave used red peppers. We used a mystery hot yellow pepper.