What I Do With Green Tomatoes…

As promised last week, I am finally going to divulge what it is that I do with green tomatoes! At the end of the growing season, when the rain starts to come in, whatever is left on the tomato plants, once hit with rain, will split and rot. Instead of wasting these little gems, I pull them all and clean them up.

Green tomatoes fresh from the garden

Once dry, I let them sit for the week in a brown paper bag. Then it is pickling day! I’ll bet you thought I would be making fried green tomatoes! I love pickled tomatoes! And green tomatoes are the best pickled! If you decide to try this, then let me tell you this takes a while, but the results are well worth it!  I use a dill pickling mix as I like the flavor the best.

I use pint jars. And I use the Ball brand Kosher Dill Pickle Mix. So are you ready to head into the kitchen? I am!

We are going to go in phases for this post, so bear with me! The first thing to do is sterilize the jars. The Ball Jars that I buy include the jar, the jar ring, and the lid. Place the jars and the rings in an empty dishwasher. Set the dishwasher on the rinse cycle. The water and the heat from drying are enough to sterilize your jars without having to boil them all in water. Set the lids aside as there is another process for that. The jars are sold by the dozen, and I do the dozen even though I might not use them all.

Sterilize the jars and rings

While the dishwasher is sterilizing your jars, cut up the tomatoes. Cut the stem end off and the flower end off. If you do not you can unknowingly add bacteria to your pickles. This is the same as you would do if you were pickling cucumbers, which I did look for but could not find. Here are what the tomatoes look like once they are all cut up.

Cut up those green tomatoes

I cut the larger tomatoes into eighths, and the smaller in half. The really tiny tomatoes I leave whole.  Aren’t they pretty?

Then get your pickling juice ready. I follow the directions on the pickling mix I buy. Today for 8 pint jars I used the following:

6 cups of water
3 cups of vinegar
3/4 cup of pickling spices

Now you have a bunch of things to do at this point. First, set the heat to bring the pickling juice to a boil. Start water in a saucepan to boil to sterilize the lids. And fill up your processing pot with water that should cover the jars once the jars are added. Set this to boil.

Next, fill your jars. I add 3 shakes of chili flakes, 3 cloves of garlic for each jar, and 3 sprigs of fresh washed dill. Then pack in the tomatoes as tightly as you can. When the pickling mix boils, turn the heat off and add it to the top of the jar leaving a 1/4″ space. Wipe the jars clean making sure to also get the grooves and top of the jar. You want a tight seal so your food does not spoil.

By now, the water with the lids should be boiling. Turn this off. There is this unique device with a magnet on the end that allows you to pull these out of the pot without burning your hand. Pull one out, set it on the jar, then place the ring on and tighten.

Jars are ready for processing

By the time all the jars are filled, lids on and sealed, the water in your processing pot should be boiling. Add one jar at a time to the rack that comes with this unit. One jar per space. The water should cover the jars.

Jars are processing

Boil for 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and using the special tongs for this type of process, remove the jars and set to cool.

Jars are cooling

As the jars cool, listen for the seal to take effect. You will hear a popping sound, and you will see that the lid has sunk in. This can happen anywhere from a half hour to a couple of hours.  Let the jars cool completely before handling.  Any lids that have not popped, place in the refrigerator. They will be ready to eat in about two weeks.

The sealed jars can be used after sitting for about 3 weeks and you can store these for up to a year. I usually refrigerate them a day before using them! They make an unexpected and delightful appetizer for the holidays, or a gift for those holiday baskets.  If you do not eat them all before the summer, they are a perfect compliment to your summer BBQ!

Now, go out and have a great Monday!

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End of the Summer Season in the Garden

Even though the summer season has passed, there are still green plants growing in the vegetable garden. Yesterday was a day spent of getting rid of the dried corn stalks, and pulling up plants that will no longer produce. There was a lot of weeding too as I was putting in cauliflower and brussel sprouts. The broccoli just needed to be trimmed back. And, there were so many green tomatoes that I picked a huge bag, mostly green but not all! Here is what I brought in…

Green tomatoes

And, more green tomatoes

The larger green tomatoes

The entire tomato bounty

So, what does someone do with all these tomatoes, you ask?

Well the larger of the tomatoes will be ripened on the counter with an apple to aid the process. To see what happens with the rest of these tomatoes, well, you will just have to stay tuned!  I will be featuring a post using these green tomatoes this coming weekend!

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Mystery Tomatoes Revealed!

Anyone who has grown tomatoes knows that they seem to take forever to set the fruit and when they do, the gardener and cook will stand there waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the fruit to develop and ripen. My plants are well over 6 feet tall, and this year is the first year that I have to race against the ground squirrels to get to my tomatoes first! It is a bit disheartening to see a beautiful tomato and then to reach under to grab it only to discover half of it, in the area you cannot see, is missing! Oh well! At least I am picking some tomatoes!

In the seed packet of the mystery tomatoes were about 12 different varieties, and I seem to have 5 of the 12! Heirlooms are not always the prettiest of tomatoes although they can be packed with flavor! They have unusual shapes and cracking along the shoulders and seams that run along the bottom. So let us take a look at what I have got going here shall we?

Heirloom tomatoes

I know that I have here a Rainbow and the Black Krim. I think that the other tomato in this shot is the Arkansas Traveler. They all look pretty when sliced open.

Pretty slices

Here is another shot including a yellow tomato that I think might be a Golden Sunburst. I also have a smaller yellow/orange tomato, which did not make the photos in this blog as they were all eaten!

Another shot of the mystery tomatoes

Now I am not an expert on heirloom tomatoes, so if you think I have misnamed something please let me know. I will be using these tomatoes for another post where I make a salsa that I am planning on using on a pizza, which will be yet another post! Stay tuned!

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There’s a Chicken in My Salad!

With the hot temperatures for the last week, we needed something cool to eat. What could be better than a huge tomato stuffed with chicken salad? This is another easy recipe. If you make the chicken salad early in the day, then the flavors will have a chance to meld…Here is a preview…

Preview

Let’s dive in, shall we? This serves two.

Ingredients
2 cans of chicken, chilled
3 stalks of celery
2 good slices of onion
1 TBS Mrs. Dash
Chili flakes
Mayonnaise
2 large tomatoes
Green salad

Drain the juices out of the can of chicken and add to a mixing bowl. Break up the chunks to shred the chicken.

Break up the chicken

Next chop up the celery and the onion and add to the chicken. Stir until well combined.

Combine in the celery and onion

Next add the Mrs. Dash and stir well.

Add Mrs. Dash

If you want a bit of heat, add the chili flakes. Let this sit in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat.

When ready to serve, remove the stem end of the tomato. Next, slice the sides being careful not to cut all the way through. Open up the tomato so that it resembles a flower. Using a spoon, stuff the tomato with the chicken salad between the slices and then spoon more on the top. Set this on top of your salad and serve!

Stuffed tomatoes!

I hope that you enjoy this easy salad! To change this up, you can also prepare a tomato and stuff it with bay shrimp!

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The Mystery Inside the Tomato Patch

I had bought a mixed packet of heirloom tomatoes seeds. I have dubbed the bed my mystery tomato patch because I have no idea what I have growing in my garden other than the fact that they are heirlooms. So, I am asking you, my readers, to see if you can help me to figure out either from the flowers or the fruit, what I might have growing in my garden. Would you mind helping me?

OK, here we go: This is the mystery patch of tomatoes. Each main stalk is about 2″ in diameter. And here is what they look like.

The mystery tomato patch

I really do not think this helps, but I tossed it in anyway!

Now I will give you a progression of photos. Not all the plants have fruit, but I will give you a photo of the flower, and if I have fruit, a photo of the fruit. Maybe you can help me identify my plants…hoping…hoping…hoping…

Here we go:

The flower on mystery tomato #1

Mystery flower on tomato #2

The fruit on mystery tomato #2

This tomato is about 2″ across the shoulders.

The flower on mystery tomato #3

Flower on mystery tomato #4

Mystery tomato #4 fruit

This tomato is about 1/2″ across the shoulders.

The flower on mystery tomato #5

The flower on mystery tomato #6

The fruit on mystery tomato #6

This tomato is about 3″ across the shoulder.

All the tomatoes were started the second week of April. The plants were planted in the ground late May.  Gee, this sounds like one of those math problems.  If the tomatoes were started in April, and were big enough to put into the ground in late May, and the growth rate varied by the nth degree, on the road of travel, where are each of the tomatoes at with the end of week #10? 

Would you possibly be able to help me identify any of these tomatoes? I sure hope so, and I am hoping that I at least have one red tomato!

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Greenhouse Update

My little upstarts have been going gung ho! Today I noticed that tomatoes are coming up as is the Love in the Mist! It is so exciting to see the changes in the seedlings. I will be donating some of the many plants to the community garden that feeds those in need. The last photos were taken 4 days ago, and here is what it looks like today!

Left side of the greenhouse

Right side of the greenhouse

Corn

Beans, cucumbers and squash

Potatoes

Zucchini

Isn’t it amazing to see the difference after 4 days?  Check back again to see the progress!

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All Weather Pizza

We have been having a mixed bag of weather. Rain, sunshine, hail, thunder, lightning, and now snow! What could be better on a cold spring evening than a pizza? Again, this pizza does not use sauce but tomatoes in its place!

Ingredients
Pizza dough
Extra virgin olive oil
4 medium tomatoes, sliced thin
1 1/2 tsp basil leaves
1 1/2 tsp oregano leaves
3 cloves finely chopped fresh garlic
Mozzarella, cheddar and asiago to your liking
Pepperoni
Hard salami
Mushrooms
Chopped tomatoes, from the tops and bottoms of the tomatoes
black olives

Tomatoes sliced for the pizza

These tomatoes are not too bad for this time of year. Summer time tomatoes are best, but these will do!

Lay out your crust then let it rest. Turn the oven on to 425 degrees. When the oven is hot, place the pizza dough in the oven for about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Then brush on the olive oil, lay out the sliced tomatoes, and add your herbs and the garlic.

Add the herbs and garlic

Top this with 2/3 of the cheese. Follow this with the pepperoni, salami, tomatoes, mushrooms and olives.

Add the toppings

Follow this with the remainder of the cheese. Then place this in the oven,

Pizza is in the oven

and set the timer for about 10 minutes. Check the crust to see how it is doing. I had to add another five minutes to the timer.

Pizza right out of the oven!

Let the pizza sit for about 5 minutes, then slice it up!

Pizza is served!

Serve this up with a hearty red wine or an ice cold beer!

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Pizza with a Twist!

I love pizza! Of all the foods out there I can eat pizza every day, as well as Chinese and Mexican foods. Oh and Italian too! I was inspired to try making this myself after having a pizza like this from a little place that was in San Carlos, CA called Cheshire. This pizza uses tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. Are you ready for some pizza!

Would you like some pizza?

Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!

Ingredients
Pizza Dough, I use a pre-made dough in this recipe
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Basil and Oregano, dried
1 huge ripe tomato
5 cloves of garlic finely chopped
Prosciutto – You can buy this in a thick slice, or some brands offer this already chopped
Black Olives
Capers
Parsley flakes

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Take your pizza stone, brush it with a bit of non-stick cooking spray. Then spread out the dough to the edges.

Spread out the pizza dough

Brush on EVOO and sprinkle with basil and oregano

Top with most of the cheese

Follow with tomato slices

Next sprinkle with finely chopped garlic

Next is the prosciutto

Add the olives

Follow with capers

Add remaining cheese

Put this into the oven and bake until the bottom side of the crust is browned, about 12 – 18 minutes.

Pizza right out of the oven!

Remove from the oven and let this sit for a minute or two, if you can, then slice and serve!

Dinner is served!

I hope that you enjoy this as much as we did.  This is a 2 – 4 serving pizza, depending on whether you want to share it!

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Chile Rellenos in the Crock Pot

My friend at work the other day mentioned Chile Rellenos to me and I have not been able to get it out of my head!  This recipe is a take off from a recipe by Roseann Wilson of Albuquerque, NM, with one change.  Her recipe uses stewed tomatoes.  I chose to use diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano.  I just cannot handle bell peppers!  Eat one bite of those dogs and I will be burping bell peppers the rest of the day.  The chiles in this recipe do not affect me that way!

Ingredients
2 – 4 oz. cans of whole green chiles
1/2 lb. each of shredded cheddar and jack cheese
14 oz. can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano (or stewed tomatoes if you prefer)
4 eggs
2 TBS flour
3/4 cup of evaporated milk

Spray the inside of your crock pot with a non-fat cooking spray to keep the dish from sticking. Take the chiles drain them.

Drain the cans of whole green chiles

Then cut them into strips.

Cut down the side of the chile and open

Layer the chiles and cheese in the crock pot.

First layer - the chiles

Add a layer of jack cheese

Then cheddar

Repeat the layers.

Then start the layers over again

Finish with the cheddar. Then pour the tomatoes over this.

Add the tomatoes

Next, in a bowl, take the eggs and combine them with the flour and milk. Pour this into the crock pot.

Add the milk, egg and flour mixture

Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours.

I like this dish as it not only tastes wonderful, but it is all done in one pot! When done, serve this up with some rice and refried beans!

Dinner is served!

Dinner is served, quick and easy! Enjoy!

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Lasagne with a Surprise!

Nights have been cold! So I wanted to make a hearty filling dish for dinner that will give us leftovers for Sunday night.

Without further ado…this is my typical recipe. Read to the end to find out what I did differently this time that is totally yummy!

Ingredients
1/2 # hot Italian sausage
1 1/2 # ground beef
1/2 large onion, chopped
8 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
44 oz. of tomato sauce
6 oz. tomato paste
1 cup of Zinfandel or Sangiovese
1 bay leaf
1 TBS + 1 tsp. dried basil
1 TBS + 1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 # sliced mushrooms
9 lasagne noodles cooked
1 cup of Parmesan cheese
1 1/2# Mozzarella (or you can substitute with Jack cheese which is less salty), sliced thinly
16 oz. cottage cheese, rinsed

First a note about cooking anything with tomatoes of tomato sauce: Do not use aluminum. The acids in the tomatoes eat away at aluminum and you will get unwanted “stuff” in your dish. Please use glass for this recipe and any other that contains tomatoes or any acidic food.

Start the sauce ahead of time so the flavors have a chance to meld. The first thing I do for the sauce is precook the sausage. Crumble the sausage in a pan and cook until it is done. Drain on paper towel.

Hot Italian sausage is cooked and ready to use

Set aside.

Next in a soup kettle add the ground beef, onion and garlic.

Burger, onions and garlic are ready to cook

Cook until the beef is browned. Drain the pot of fat. Then add in the cooked sausage, tomato sauce, tomato paste, wine, bay leaf, basil and oregano.

Sauce is ready to cook and the bay leaf is added

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover. Stir periodically for the next hour taking care not to burn the sauce. Turn the sauce off and let this cool down a bit.

Next cook the noodles according to the package directions. When done, rinse the noodles. Keep the noodles in water so that they do not stick together. Heat your oven to 350 degrees (176 degrees Celsius). Use a 9×13″ baking pan. Add 1 1/2 cups of sauce to the bottom of the pan,

1st layer is sauce

and lay 3 noodles over the sauce.

2nd layer are the noodles

Add the same amount of sauce over the noodles.

3rd layer is more sauce

Sprinkle with the cottage cheese,

4th layer is the cottage cheese

and 1/3 of the Parmesan.

5th layer is Parmesan

Lay slices of the mozzarella over this.

6th layer is mozarella or jack cheese

Normally I would repeat the layers again, but tonight I used the leftover manicotti spinach mixture for this layer.

Repeat layers 2 and 3, then I added the leftover manicotti filling

For the flavors in the mouth, that is part of the surprise, the other is the hot Italian sausage. Then I added a layer of cheese. Next, use the last of the noodles and this time cover with sauce, remaining mozzarella and the last of the Parmesan.

Place the baking pan on a cookie sheet to avoid any possible overflow from burning up on the floor of the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes until the cheese on the top is just browning and bubbly! Remove this from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes before cutting into the lasagne.

Lasagne right out of the oven

Make some garlic bread while the lasagne is cooling.

I serve this up with garlic cheese bread

When the bread is done, cut the lasagne, pour out a glass of the red wine used in cooking and dinner is served!

Dinner is served!

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