Simon Rumble’s blog

In which we turn 215kg of tomatoes into delicious bottled tomato pulp

Yesterday we did what has become an annual tradition, turning a bunch of tomatoes into passata, a tomato pulp with the seeds and skins removed. We transformed a huge wall of tomato boxes into two 44 gallon drums of bottled passata in one big 8 hour push.

The process is pretty straightforward:

1. Wash the tomatoes
2. Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water
3. Push the tomatoes through the passata machine, which separates skins and seeds from the pulp
4. Push the seeds and skins through the machine two more times
5. Bottle the pulp into clean bottles with a leaf or two of basil
6. Sterilise the bottles in drums of boiling water

At the end of that, we end up with mountains of shelf-stable tomato pulp. Perfect for when you need a little bottled sunshine in the depths of winter.

Of course the tomato gets everywhere and it's a pretty messy day, but lots of fun and the results are delicious and super useful.

Here is the presentation I gave at the Snowplow Meetup Sydney last night. In it I talk about all the ways we've been using Snowplow. You can also view the original format on Google Slides here.

We moved in last weekend and are back in Marrickville. It's been a long slog and there's still a bunch more work to be done before we're completely finished, but it's looking good.

Awnings and privacy screens on. Networking set up and we now have access points throughout the house (using the amazing Unifi APs). The beautiful piece of bespoke joinery we had made for the kitchen was installed and looks fantastic.

Now we just have to set everything up. Still some painting to be done and a few odds and ends.

Huge amounts going on in the house. We move in on Saturday which is enormously exciting.

Yesterday Holly managed to score a bunch of turf for free on Facebook, so this morning I was back at the house digging up the soil and laying turf. It looks good and cost nothing, which is nice.

We're moving in next weekend. It feels like it's been a very long time, though realistically it's been pretty quick.

Yesterday we dropped in to check out progress. Rooms getting painted, bulkheads installed in the kitchen, renders applied and the slate roof is being replaced.

Popped in this morning to check on progress. There were about 8 tradies on site putting in finishing touches. Painting, plumbing and carpentry all going on. All happening to allow us to move in the weekend after next. Very very exciting!

Details are looking pretty awesome. The render and lime wash on the outside hempcrete looks amazing. Look at the bevelled edge on the corner in the photos below.

Window reveals have been oiled and look stunning.

Big milestone reached this week. We got the builder to agree to a move in date. Everything should be finished enough for us to move in by 14th November. There might be some stuff still going on but all the big stuff should be done. Pretty exciting!

This week saw the benchtop, sink, oven and stove arrive and get installed in the kitchen. Plastering and rendering is going on and some fans got installed upstairs.

Popped in on Saturday to check the place out. Rendering of the hempcrete is underway. Plastering the internal walls is ongoing. The stairs are complete and look fantastic. Bathrooms getting waterproofed.

So I did this timelapse video of us setting up camp over the long weekend. It was pretty awesome but then I hit upon the idea of dubbing in Yakkity Sax. Immediate and massive improvement.

The exterior cladding to the first floor is complete and looks fab! Recycled blackbutt timber. We're going to let it weather to grey.

Inside the first layer of render is going on hempcrete, plastering is happening on internal walls and bathrooms are getting waterproofed. Appliances have started arriving: stove, microwave, fans all there, oven and sinks still to come.