Your dilly beans and pickles look great! I ususally can't wait the recommended amount of times to give a new recipe a try. Especially if I have more to can and want to use the same recipe again.

I've made Alton Brown's sauce and it rocks. You should be OK upping the amount of dried spices or powders but be aware some say that herbs will become bitter once canned. Most of the time I'll add the onion and garlic powder before canning and then add the fresh herbs when I'm using the jar in a recipe.

Katie's Roasted Tomato & Garlic soup makes a great sauce if you leave out the chicken broth. It uses fresh veggie's and garlic. I've always pressure canned it though a BWB may be possible without the broth. I'd have to look at the recipe again.

Canning that recipe might not be safe as written. As an option, instead of the dried garlic and onion, use fresh. Also if you can, use fresh herbs, but use a bit more of each. I would leave out the basil however. For each quart, add a teaspoon of the citric acid. This will ensure that its acidic enough to BWB can. I made a similar recipe using roasted garlic, roasted onion, rosemary, oregano, roasted sweet red peppers. Pureed and it was used as a spread. For the acid, I added about 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar to each quart, also added some dried ground ancho pepper powder to thicken it up a bit more.

Thanks for your imput, ksrogers. But, are you talking about the soup (which I might be interested in canning, if the no-broth thing can be clarified) or is it the sauce recipe I copied and pasted from another member's post?

If it's the sauce, why - and now I'm confused again! - oh why would dried onions garlic and herbs be less safe than fresh?

If Linda Lou was a +10 on the safety spectrum, where would you be? I have five kids under 11 years old and I couldn't serve them food I was the least bit iffy on. And since I have no experience to draw from, I have to go by the book about 100%. (Also, being as busy as I am, I need to not spend a big chunk of time that turns out to be wasted.) That is why after being a member only one day I am already being so tiresome with my questions.

I would much prefer to use fresh herbs, fresh roasted garlic (though I want to use onion powder - don't want to bother with fresh when the powder adds what I like) but I am not willing to wing it without a recipe that's tested.

Just curious: why would you leave out the basil? (When we canned tomatoes, my friend and I put a single fresh leaf in the jars. It looked so pretty - for a while, at least. I'd kinda like to do it again if I wouldn't be poisoning anyone. I can't imagine the harm one little basil leaf could do in a quart of tomatoes, but I know... NOTHING ABOUT THIS STUFF.

I need that Ball Blue Book! Walmart? Five bucks or so?

helenore,
Sounds like you have been busy with the alternative harvest. I only have 2 under 11 but I understand what you are saying about safety. Not only can you not risk their health, but you can't take risks with your own. This is a recipe from a book that is generally considered safe, Small Batch Preserving. After the Blue Book (as a reference) it is usually everyone's favorite. I have also been happy that I purchased the new book, Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. It seems to combine their Bernardin Canadian version with the Ball American version.

Seasoned Tomato Sauce
12 cups chopped ripe tomatoes (about 6lbs)
1 cup chopped onion (subsitute a smaller amount of powder if you like)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar (you could safely leave that out)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
2 Tablespoons bottled lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano, sugar, pepper and bay leaves in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered until very thick, about 1 1/2 hours; stir frequently. Press through a food mill or coarse sieve to remove seeds and skins. Add lemon juice and salt.
2. Remove hot jars from canner and ladle sauce into jars within 1/2 inch of rim. Process 35 minutes for half-pint or pint jars. Makes about 4 cups. (Apparently it is not safe to can in quarts.) Personally, I don't see why you couldn't reduce the tomatoes in the oven rather than on the stove. Sounds less messy. Alot of folks use the same oven method to make apple butter. Just don't add any oil.

Here are another two from the same book. Booberry posted it in another thread.

* Exported from MasterCook *
Chunky Basil Pasta Sauce
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
8 cups (2 L) coarsely chopped peeled tomatoes -- (about 9-12 tomatoes or 4 lb/2 kg)
1 cup chopped onion -- (250 mL)
3 cloves garlic -- minced
2/3 cup red wine -- (150 mL)
1/3 cup red wine vinegar (5 % strength) -- (75 mL)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil -- (125 mL)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley -- (15 mL)
1 teaspoon pickling salt -- (5 mL)
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar -- (2 mL)
1 6-oz/156 mL) can tomato paste
Combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, wine, vinegar, basil, parsley, salt, sugar and tomato paste in a very large non-reactive pan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until mixture reaches desired consistency, stirring frequently.
Remove hot jars from canner and ladle sauce into jars to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of rim (head space). Process 35 minutes for pin (500 mL) jars and 40 minutes for quart (1 L) jars in a BWB.
Yield:
"8 cups"
Note: This sauce also makes an excellent base for a quick pizza.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
* Exported from MasterCook *
Multi-Use Tomato Sauce
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
10 plum tomatoes -- (about 2 1/2 lbs./1 kg)
10 large tomatoes -- peeled and chopped (about 4 lbs./2 kg)
4 large garlic cloves -- minced
2 large stalks celery -- chopped
2 medium carrots -- chopped
1 large onion -- chopped
1 large zucchini -- chopped
1 large sweet green pepper -- chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes -- (125 mL)
2/3 cup dry red wine -- (150 mL)
1/2 cup red wine vinegar (5% strength or more) -- (125 mL)
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon pickling salt -- (15 mL)
2 teaspoons dried oregano -- (10 mL)
2 teaspoons dried basil -- (10 mL)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar -- (5 mL) (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon -- (2 mL) (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper -- (2 mL)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley -- (50 mL)
Combine tomatoes, celery, garlic, onion, zucchini and green pepper in a very large non-reactive pan. Add 1 cup (250 mL) water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and boil gently, covered, for 25 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken, stirring occasionally.
Soak sun-dried tomatoes in boiling water until softened. Drain and dice. Add to sauce with wine, vinegar, bay leaves, salt, oregano, basil, sugar, cinamon and pepper. Continue to boil gently until desired consistency, stirring frequently. Discard bay leaves and stir in parsley.
Remove hot jars from canner and ladle sauce into jars to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of rim (head space). Process in a BWB 35 minutes for pint (500 mL) jars and 40 minutes for quart (1 L) jars.
Yield:
"12 cups"

Linda Lou posted this one in another thread:
Seasoned Tomato Sauce
Makes about 5 half-pints

10 pounds washed, peeled, cored and chopped tomatoes
3 medium onions, chopped fine
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon oregano
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
Hot Pack

Add all ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Press mixture through a food mill and discard seeds. Return to sauce pan and cook over medium-high heat until thick, stirring frequently. Add lemon juice or citric acid to hot canning jars and pack with hot prepared tomato mixture leaving -inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim and screw threads and adjust lids and screw bands.

Processing Methods

Boiling Water Bath Canner
Half-Pints 35 minutes
Pints 35 minutes
Pressure Canner

Dial Gauge Type @ 11 pounds pressure or Weighted Gauge Type @ 10 pounds pressure.
Half-Pints 15 minutes
Pints 15 minutes
After processing, remove jars immediately, place on a rack to cool.
Test for Seal.

You can leave out the onion. Do not increase the garlic amount as it is a low acid food and will change the ph level. Some herbs become bitter when canned. This sauce recipe should give you a good basic sauce to can.

Hopefully this will help!!

Its the sauce. Fresh herbs, onion, and garlic has a much cleaner taste compared to dried. I use both here, and yes, dried is a bit safer, as well as not diluting a liquid with more liquid. When I make a thick spread or sauce, I also use dried ingredients, but also add fresh. The dried things help to absorb some of the liquid which improves the thickness. Adding the broth would probably require it to be pressure canned, as opposed to a BWB. Basil sometimes gives off an odd flavor if dried is used. When adding basil, its a good idea to add it at the time just before serving to get the full benefit of the flavor. Kind of like adding cilantro, which can lose 95% of its taste after just a few minutes in heat.

Well, I think I sufficiently combined the recipes in this thread. I think it should be fairly safe, especially since this time, I'm not adding the zucchini or green peppers due to not having them. I'm going to cook w/ whole basil leaves, then fish them out like I would the bay leaves since people said it doesn't really do as well with the processing.

Do you think adding the cinnamon basil instead of cinnamon would work?

I'm fairly certain I have more than 10 lbs of tomatoes. It's okay to add more tomatoes, right? They are pretty watery, so I'll probably have to cook it down more.

Hybrid Recipe for Tomato Sauce:

10lbs tomatoes
4 large garlic cloves -- minced
2 cups or 1 large onion -- chopped fine
optional veggies:
1 large zucchini -- chopped
1 large sweet green pepper (1 cup)-- chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
2/3 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup red wine vinegar (5% strength or more)
4-6 basil leaves
1 tablespoon pickling salt
2 teaspoons dried oregano OR 2 tablespoons fresh oregano
1 teaspoon granulated sugar -- (5 mL) (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon -- (2 mL) (optional) OR cook w/ cinnamon basil leaves?
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Combine tomatoes, garlic, onion, zucchini and green pepper. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place veggies on a large baking sheet cut side up. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, spices and herbs. Bake uncovered 2 hours. Turn oven to 400 degrees and bake another 30 minutes.

Remove from pan and process through a food mill. Put sauce in pan and heat thoroughly. Put into pint jars with 1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid per jar.

Soak sun-dried tomatoes in boiling water until softened. Drain and dice. Add to sauce with wine, vinegar, basil leaves, salt, oregano, basil, sugar, cinamon and pepper.

Continue to boil gently until desired consistency, stirring frequently. Discard basil leaves and stir in parsley.
Remove hot jars from canner and ladle sauce into jars to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of rim (head space). Process in a BWB 35 minutes for pint (500 mL) jars and 40 minutes for quart (1 L) jars.

When cooking add 2 TBLE fresh basil towards the end of heating.