We ate watermelon with them and had a lovely visit. Rene gave us some good insights on where to place the bar. It's always nice to get a fresh perspective. While we hate the idea of cutting down the apricot tree, it's true that it's probably doomed anyway, and the space behind it would make a fine place to build a bar.
Then on Sunday, we had our big tomato harvest party. Before we arrived, Rick C picked tons of tomatoes. Catherine brought baguettes and dipping oil for us to enjoy while we worked. We brought a campstove and a folding table, plus a number of pots, some cutting boards and knives, and a big spoon. Then we set up an assembly line.
Here, Rick cuts the tomatoes. We cut the tops off the tomatoes, then cut them in half.
Then we dropped them in boiling water. After a few minutes, when we could see the skins starting to loosen and peel up a little, we fished them out with the slotted spoon and dropped them in cold water.
Then we pulled off the skins, and dropped them, along with the cut-off tops, into the bucket for the chickens. Because we made so much usable chicken feed at once, it was worth taking it home rather than just composting it.
Here both Ricks are cooking while the rest of us drink beer and relax in the shade. There really wasn't that much work to do, and having a group made it easy.
We realized we'd all forgotten containers to put the sauce in, so Catherine ran out and bought some for us. Rick C also cooked up a big batch of jalapenos that he plans to pickle.
After we had peeled all the tomatoes, we put the meats in a big pot with a splash of olive oil, and cooked that for a while. By evening, it was mostly done, but the pot was still hot, so I just took the pot home. This morning, I simmered it for a few more hours, then let it cool and put it in the containers, all ready to freeze.
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