Good Intentions Tomato Juice

My parents and much of my extended family have been gardening since before it was cool, and looking back now I have so much gratitude for the healthy habits and love of the earth that they instilled in me. Yes… maybe my dad forgot to pick me up once or twice due to his love and infatuation with the garden, but there truly are worse things. 

Our late summers were filled with picking our crop, enjoying our own servings, giving what we couldn’t consume away to friends, neighbors, and often strangers, and canning and freezing our hearts out of whatever remained. My dad’s biggest obsession was the one and only humble tomato -- in any variety. So much so that my mom took to the task to figure out what on earth to do with ALL OF THEM. Before google was even a thought, my mom found a recipe (she doesn’t really remember where, a state fair mailer is her best guess #wheninthemidwest) and over time it was adapted as fresh ingredients from our garden changed. The smell of cooking tomatoes, the whir of what I will always call the smoosher thing (more professionally known as a food mill), the sound of cans boiling in the world’s largest pot, & the official pop of the mason jar sealing all bring me back to those days.   

I’ve always known that this tomato juice was the best I’ve ever tasted (get ready bloody mary lovers!) because every ingredient was grown, harvested, & prepared with so much love. As the last two decades of my life have taken me from home, and I’ve shared with the friends I’ve met along the way, we all agreed this is something the world should know.

Fast forward to this year of so much change, my belief that all the world should have access to nourishing food and gardening know-how is more deeply amplified. Health and community are our most valuable assets. What if I made this tomato juice and in the process was able to create a program that empowered more gardening (even in the hardest of places)?

A year of much change and turmoil also included my job of 8 years ending, & a month later, me holding my dad’s hand while channeling reiki as he was transported by ambulance to hospice after 80 years of life. I promised him during those last few days, dad I’m going to do it. I’m going to let the world know how great this tomato juice is that you and mom adapted many moons ago. I told him I was looking forward to his gentle guidance from above. As I know he is now looking out, nudging my way forward, I plan to birth this upcoming year, with every step of the process seeded in positive intentions, Good Intentions Tomato Juice. 

Stay tuned.

The infamous smoosher thing:

Sneak peak of mason jars nestled in, boiling away: