Frances Moore

I would never freeze stuffed tomatoes; they do not hold up after defrosting. When I have extra tomatoes I always can them with great results. If you chose to try and freeze them anyway, I would cook the rice first and stuff the raw tomatoes. After defrosting slightly, I would bake them in the oven until thoroughly heated; be prepared they will not hold their shape. If you have a few extra tomatoes, quarter them and freeze them for chili or other soups; they work well like that. If you want something you can stuff and freeze, the green bell peppers are great for that.

If you only want to clean one you can use a torch. The easiest way to clean more is to build a fire and put them in it and let everything burn off. VERY IMPORTANT is to do this when the temperatures outside are hot. The iron pots have to cool gradually; do not run water over them when hot. If the temperature is cold and they cool too quickly they will crack. After they cool down wipe clean and rub with oil.

Lard was the only shortening that we used in my home until I married and had my own home. We butchered our own pigs and made our lard. Like you said our temperatures are not as warm as yours but our lard was always in solid form. What you are seeing in the yellow color, I believe your lard is already a little rancid from the heat. I say this because anytime we have melted our lard it never had a yellow color to it; it was more clear. Any good quality butcher shop with these climate conditions would store the lard in a cooler. I would not buy it like this.