tomato sauce math

I have been putting off this day for over a week now, but the tomatoes could no longer be denied. We had a great crop of tomatoes this year, thanks to this miracle tomato fertilizer my dad bought for me. Secondo has been faithfully picking them; every time I would turn around in the kitchen, another pot of tomatoes would appear on my counter. I ran out of pots today, so it was time to deal with them. (Quite a few had been in huge tupperware containers in the fridge over the weekend, but they were at the end of that line as well).

I started with 4 huge containers of plum tomatoes (not all pictured, and obviously the one in the front is a ringer with the wrong sort in it).

Once I washed and sliced, I had 3 pots of tomatoes to cook down.

This became 2 pots of sauce after I put them through what, growing up, we called a "skichitutto" (phonetic spelling; google was no help). My sons were well disappointed to miss this step, and I missed their help!

The pot on the bottom right is tomato soup with tortellini;

I couldn't resist after smelling those cooking tomatoes all day.

The 2 pots, after some seasoning and cooking down, became 8 quarts of sauce.

There are eight there, I swear! Four are still in the pressure canner in the back, bubbling away in their little steam bath, and I am waiting up to take them out safely. It has been a long day with tomatoes!