Fresh-from-the-Garden Tomato Aspic

Preparation

1. Boil all the ingredients - except the gelatin, water, grated carrot, pepper and celery - with the spices tied in a muslin bag, for 30 minutes. Remove the bag of spices, and whirl the tomato mixture (there should be about 1 quart) in a blender until smooth. Soak the gelatin in the cold water, then dissolve it in a cupful of the tomato blend, heated to boiling. Add this and the grated vegetables to the remaining tomato mixture. If time is short, you may mince the carrot, green pepper and celery in the food grinder. Turn into a 2-quart mold rinsed with cold water, and set to chill. Serve the tomato aspic as an accompaniment to cold cuts, herring snacks or sardines. Or, mold it in a ring and fill the center with ham, chicken, lobster or crab meat salad.