Preserves: Tomato Jam

This week has been all about preserving over here!

As our harvest is winding down, and giving me lots of yummy fruits and veggies I am preserving away so that I can savor the flavor in the next couple months.

This year, I planted an astounding (for me) 9 tomato plants. 

And I have to say, this was not my best garden year I really should have gotten more tomatoes.

*Note to self: Don't plant more than 9 plants, because I may have better luck next year!*

 But I was able to preserve tomatoes, and in a couple different ways!

The easiest way I preserved some of my tomatoes ( and how I did most of my tomatoes) was to chop them up with some basil, garlic and olive oil and cook them. It made a nice sauce, and I froze them in small batches for pasta or pizza. 

After making a couple batches that way, I decided to try something new after seeing Tomato Jam on Diners, Drive in's and Dives. So online I went and found this recipe.

Now I followed the directions and even hot water bathed my jars, let them cool and it wasn't thick enough for me. It looked more like a ketchup, and I wanted more of a Jam. So I added some pectin 

(the one where you have to add sugar, because there was already sugar in the recipe) and it came up to a nice thick jam/jelly.  I cannot wait to try this on a blt or sandwich this winter when fresh garden tomatoes are not an option.

Have you ever made a jam/jelly with something other than what you would think to make it out of?

I've done jalepeno jelly before!