Bargain Tomatoes

This morning I went to the farmers' market in search of small cucumbers to pickle, and found this instead:

My much-beloved bargain tomatoes. $15 for a 25 lb box of "seconds", although some of them are actually perfect. Last summer we bought several such boxes, to freeze and make into sauce. It's a great deal, as long as I can process them quickly. Wait a few days, and most of the box will be rotten. Not that I've procrastinated and had that happen before. Ahem.

I had stopped at the market on the way to a playdate, but turned the car around and dashed home to get the tomatoes inside. With a heat index of 100 today, these quickly would have become mush in the car.

While the baby was sleeping, I washed and chopped tomatoes and Betsy filled the jars. My big girl can be such a good helper these days. We got 20 cups of tomatoes packed and into the freezer this afternoon!

This wasn't even half the box, so I have a little more work to do after the kids go to bed. I don't mind, because I know how good those tomatoes will taste this winter.

P.S. The National Center for Home Food Preservation website is my go-to resource for how to process and store all kinds of summer goodness.