Saving Seeds {Heirloom Tomato}

These days my kitchen is looking more like a science lab and less like a place to cook and eat. My windowsill and countertop is filled with seed saving experiments and random growing things. Here is a really easy and excellent fruitfly trap. Just a piece of computer paper rolled up in a vase with a piece of fruit and a little water. The fruit flies love it and if the paper at the top touches the sides of the vase they cant get out.
Also, there are some rocks from the kids and a lemon tree that we've been growing all summer now.
I've been saving the seeds of 3 tomato varieties this year- Amish Paste, Big Rainbow, and Beefsteak. All our seeds this year came from Baker Creek (rareseeds.com) and are heirloom, open pollinated, and non-gmo so they can be saved and will grow true to type next year.
Here's how to save tomato seeds- Scoop out the seeds and fleshy parts of the tomato insides into a mason jar- save the outer meaty parts for making sauce or to use in salads.When they are fresh, the seeds are covered in a slimy coating that makes it hard to pick them up. Fermentation will remove the seed coats. Cover with cheesecloth or (my preferred method) a coffee filter. Screw the metal band on. This way the fruit flies can't get into the jar. Put the jar in the window or on the counter or wherever. In a couple of days it will start looking kinda gross and there might be some white fuzzy stuff floating around in there. Add some water to the jar and swish it around and when it settles you'll notice that the seeds drop to the bottom. Carefully pour out the water and fleshy parts, keeping the seeds in the jar. You might have to refill with water and repeat a couple times to get everything out. strain the water out and pour the seeds on a piece of wax paper on a plate and let dry for a day or two. The seeds will be soft and fuzzy and you can put them in an envelope or clean dry jar, label it, and save them for next year! 

Homemade Peanut Butter

Making your own peanut butter is so easy and you know exactly what is in it. And it can be cheaper than buying the "all-natural" kind.

I get organic roasted peanuts at Nature's Pantry for about $2 a pound. I get a few pounds at a time. If you don't think you'll use all you get in a timely manner they freeze well. I fill my blender cup a little less than halfway. You don't have to add any oil because the peanuts will release their own oil as they mash up. It will take awhile. Your husband will come in the kitchen, peer in the blender and suggest its not going to work. But don't worry- it will! 

You can make it as crunchy or smooth as you like - the longer it blends, the smoother it gets. Then just scoop it out into a mason jar or into the empty peanut butter jar