So, I'm waiting for feedback on an illustration job which has come in. I'm letting the first wash dry on my first Illustration Friday offering. And I thought I'd be home maker supreme and make a chorizo and tomato soup, using some cherry tomatoes I bottled up three (or was it four? Five?) years ago. Reaching in to the cobwebby depths of the dresser cupboard my hands encountered not one but two jars. Now, I do have a tendency to hoard, but why for the life of me I have hung on to a large jar of blackberries for four years I do not know. Ask my subconscious. It's not as if they don't grow every year.
The lid had actually lifted off slightly, and the sides were streaked with a dark fermenting liquid oozing from under the seal. Worse, there was a strange, furry cap growing inside. Cautious sniffing revealed a sweet vinegar smell and it did cross my mind to save a little mould culture and start my own balsamic vinegar plant. But after our recent adventures in the Land of Food Poisoning I decided not.
Such a pretty auburn red - more like Brown Madder really.
On to the tomatoes. Golden Sunrise I think, once upon a time. No mould there; they looked alright. And even smelled acceptable. Maybe I had broken a new record for longevity in bottling.
But no. A finger tip taste resulted in my spitting very uncouthly in the sink and with much ceremony, the contents were taken to their final resting place in the compost heap. We will still have chorizo and tomato soup, but with tinned tomatoes. Shop bought.
