Tomato Paste

Tomato paste can only be found in a handful of stores in Bandung.  Each little tiny can costs several dollars.  Tomato paste is also the ingredient in about half my good recipes.  No wonder I remember eating pizza with ketchup for the sauce when I was a kid!  In the past three countries we’ve lived in, tomato has been a base for many of the national dishes, so it was never hard to find.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered I’d either have to find a solution for my tomato paste problem, or chunk half my recipes!  I did find some cans of tomato paste...with sardines!  No way.  So, today I made my own tomato paste!  I feel very Little House on the Prairie-ish, and also very proud of myself.  Should I be wearing a bonnet and a calico dress?  Do you know how many tomatoes it takes to make even a small amount of tomato paste?  It takes a lot.  But today, after boiling, peeling, cutting, blending, straining, stirring, baking and spooning two kilos of tomatoes, I have myself 2 small jelly jars of tomato paste!  Yum!  I think I’ll make a pizza!