Garden Tomato Soup-Canning - cooking recipe

Ingredients

36 -40 ripe tomatoes (skins removed and quartered)
4 -5 stalks celery & leaves, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
5 medium onions, chopped (If you have a food processor, use it to chop the celery, pepper, onions)
1 tablespoon dried parsley
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
8 -10 whole peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
BUTTER SAUCE
1/3 lb butter
1/4 cup salt, to taste
BROWN SUGAR PASTE
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour

Preparation

Put all of the ingredients in a large kettle. Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer and cook until the celery is soft, about 15 minutes; then add the butter sauce and brown sugar paste.
Mix the sugar and flour together in a bowl. Add enough of the hot soup to make a paste, then stir this into the hot soup and bring to a boil until soup thickens, about 10-15 minutes.
If the soup is thicker than you prefer, add a little water. Adding the red pepper flakes makes the soup zingier. If too sweet, add a little more salt.
Pour soup into quart jars and can in a pressure canner for 25 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.
Yield: 6-7 quarts, depending on size of tomatoes.