Weekend Recipe - Green Tomato Pickles

The weather turned here almost overnight.  We went from 60s and pleasant to 26 degrees at night  in 24 hours. As a result many people harvested tomatoes before they were killed by the frost.  We used to do this too.  Anything still on the vine was removed even if it was green.  Then a week or so later when we recovered from all that harvesting we decided what to do with the green tomatoes.  This was a favorite recipe.

This is a canned recipe so if you have never canned before read up on it in the Joy of Cooking or this great new book I found on canning called Canning and Preserving with Ashley English.  She has a whole section on pickling.

Green Tomato Pickles

1 dry quart of green tomatoes (This is what will fit in half a peck basket or about 1/6 more than a liquid quart by measure.)
2 large onions
1/3 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups vinegar
3 red peppers, seeded and chopped
3 green peppers, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped, not pressed
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard seeds
1 1/2 tsp. whole cloves
1 Tbls. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. celery seed
(I use 3 Tbls. of Backyard Patch Pickling Spice instead of these spices to make mine)

Slice the green tomatoes and onions thinly. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of salt and let stand overnight.  This removes the excess water and is important to the preserving process so do not skip this step.  Rinse and drain in the morning.

Bring the vinegar to a boil and add the peppers and garlic and boil vigorously for 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes, onions and spices and simmer slowly for 20 minutes.  Pack while still hot into sterilized canning jars and seal immediately with hot sterilized caps.  the process in a hot-water bath for 5 minutes.  Makes 5 to 6 pints of pickled tomatoes.

Stuffed Tomatoes in Tomato Season

This past week while driving someone was talking about cars at the Volo Auto Museum and explained that they had Disney characters from the movie Cars including Tow Mater.  Now I have seen the move Cars and love the characters in it, but for some reason without the visual, my brain went somewhere else entirely, like how clever it was to take a word kids would know and a color they love and make it a character they can like and learn from… Get the picture?  I think this time of year I have tomatoes on the brain.  The vines are brimming with fruit, the farmer’ Market is selling tomatoes at a lower price so more of them move out, and even the grocery store fruit is of a better quality.

Got an over abundance of tomatoes?!? Looking for a cool, light and refreshing side…or even a main dish dinner?!? Well, stuffed tomatoes are THE way to go!

Stuffed Tomatoes with Avocado Salad
   4 large tomatoes
   1 avocado, diced
   About 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
   1 jalapeno, finely chopped
   2 garlic cloves, crushed
   1/2 tsp ground cumin
   1 tsp lemon juice
   Salt and pepper to taste

Cut a cone around the stem bud, cutting out the center portion of the tomato. Scoop out the seeds. (So it won't be so "runny" when you fork into it.) In a mixing bowl, toss together the avocado, onion, jalapeno, crushed garlic, ground cumin and lemon juice. Season with a little salt and pepper.  Stuff the Avocado Salad into the Tomatoes.

Grilled Stuffed Heirloom Tomatoes
  4 orange tomatoes (or you can use any cool heirloom tomato you find)
   1 15 oz. can sliced black olives
   1/2 cup goat cheese blended with 2 tsp. of Herbs de Provence Seasoning

Cut a cone around the stem bud, cutting out the center portion of the tomato. Scoop out the seeds. In a mixing bowl, fork the Herbs De Prevence into the goat cheese until well incorporated,  then toss the black olive slices with the goat cheese and stuff into the awaiting tomatoes. Place the stuffed tomatoes on a hot grill and grill for about 5-8 minutes, or until goat cheese gets oozy…and the tomato skin begins to wrinkle.

If these two recipes don’t make you hungry, try any of these suggestions for a stuffing materials:
 
Tuna Salad
Rosemary Chicken Salad
Corn and Black Bean Salsa
Guacamole

Garlic Pasta - No Meat Monday Recipe

No Meat Monday Recipe - Garlic Pasta

Chas and I were working on pasta sauce and canning tomatoes recently and got involved in a discussion about No Meat Pasta dishes (I like meat in may pasta and he prefers vegetarian.)  After a while we ended up experimenting with this recipe I found in Cooking Light magazine from April 2004.

I felt it was perfect to share as the herbs and vegetables to make it are perfectly in season right now, so you can try it out.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 cups chopped plum tomatoes (about 2 pounds) (You can use two cans diced if you don't have fresh)
• 6 cups hot cooked campanella (about 12 ounces uncooked pasta) we actually used Ziti
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

• Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add chopped tomatoes; cook for 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Add pasta, basil, cheese, salt, and pepper, tossing gently to combine.

If you like Garlic, but do not have time to mince and saute, I recommend using the Garlic and Herb Combination Herb Mix.  Not only does it make a great pasta sauce, but a wonderful garlic bread too!