Tomato Sauce

When we went shopping yesterday, they had tomatoes on special for 99c a kilo. So we got 20kg. Today I started to make tomato sauce (both the type for putting on pies and they type for making spagetti sauce). After cooking them with some onions and garlic for 5 hours, they were ready to be sieved. Last time I did this, I had to do it manually, 10kg of boiled tomatoes through a spagetti colendar. It used to take me hours, literally.

But late last year, we went looking for a sauce making tool. I'd seen this on a cooking show. Basically, you put the tomatoes (or vegetable on choice) in the top, turn the handle, and get lovely puree out one side and all the yucky stuff (skins, seeds etc) out the other. We went to the main cooking shop in town, asked if they had anything like this and they said no. We were disappointed but kept looking around the shop.

Then we found it, tucked right up the back on the bottom shelf, two lovely red boxes with lots of Italian on it, under a nice layer of dust. I don't speak Italian but the pictures on the front were pretty self explanitory. The dodgy translation was no help but I was willing to risk it. Now the only obstacle was the price. It has a sticker with $69 on it. Now, I was pretty sure this was what I wanted but I didn't want to blow that much if I could avoid it. So when I got the counter I asked if this machine would do what I wanted. They had no idea. I said I didn't want to risk the price if it might not do what I wanted. The girl at the checkout said fair enough, I could have it for $10!!!!! So trying not to seem to eager, I paid and got out of the shop.

Today we used it for the first time. I can't believe what a difference it made. In 15 mins I'd done the whole 10kg of tomatoes. So I am now up to the stage of adding the sauce making mix, sugar and apples. Then boil for an hour or two. With a bit of luck, by the time we go to bed tonight we should have a nice stock of a couple of dozen bottles of sauce.

Below is a picture of me using my favourite piece of kitchen equipment:

On the stitching front, I manage to get my goldwork pattern transfered today. I should've just done it this way last week. Teach me for being lazy. I tried using the tailors carbon paper - what a waste of time and money!! So I can now start on that. I was going to try and get my LOG pouch finished today but the sauce making got in the way.