Yesterday while I was cleaning out the greenhouse, I picked all the green tomatoes off the withering plants before I heaved them on to the compost pile.
And then I decided to rip 8 tomato plants out of one of the garden boxes. I couldn’t take it anymore. The little OCD monkeys in my head made me do it. I just couldn’t stand walking by the disheveled tomato plants any longer. It was making me itch. I swear I was about ready to break out in hives at any moment.
So what did I plant? More freakin’ kale.
Or maybe it’s winter cabbage. Who knows.
All I know is that now I have 27+ pounds of tomatoes. 20+ pounds of which are green. Holy crap people. I sure hope you have some ideas for me. I have no desire to store these right now and I’d like to can them some how. So if you have a favorite recipe that involves green tomatoes, please, please, please leave it in the comments below.
¡muchas gracias
~ Mavis
P.S.
Have you seen Fried Green Tomatoes? What scene do you think is better?
The one where Kathy Bates backs in the girls VW Bug {repeatedly} in the grocery store parking lot, or when she wraps herself in Saran Wrap and greets her husband at the front door?
Tawanda!
Haven’t seen it yet {seriously}? Well here you go.
Fried Green Tomatoes {Extended Collector’s Edition}
Fried Green Tomatoes
Brandi says
Jealous of all those tomatoes!
Ashley says
Green tomato relish! I got the recipe from 100 Days of Real Food, it is great for storing in the freezer.
amy says
Green tomato (hot dog) relish. Found the recipe on the internet after all my vines died.
patti m says
this recipe is on my list for the mounds of ‘greenies’ i still have…
http://www.farmgirlfare.com/2009/09/got-green-tomatoes-try-my-super-simple.html
looking forward to seeing what everyone suggests!
Avee82 says
Lol, I didn’t know you could do anything with green tomatoes except fry em’ or pickle em’. You can ripen them to though.
Elizabeth says
I bring them in and let them ripen in doors. I line as many trays as needed with dish towels and place the tomatoes stem side down and put them all on the dining room table. They actually ripen pretty quickly, use them as they ripen. Check often to make sure something isn’t going bad.
If enough ripen at a time I might make a batch of spaghetti sauce. Other wise I just chop as needed and add to whatever dish I am making. They are generally smaller tomatoes so not the best for slicing. The skin can be tougher also , so I usually slip the skin on them when cooking.
20 lb is a great amount. I think I have about 30 pounds estimated. I have never felt the need to make any of the green tomato recipes, like mincemeat or relish though we did try the fried green tomatoes once.
I like the scene where were she bashes the car better than the other mentioned.
harper says
ThyHand has a great recipe for Curried Green Tomato Sauce, every year we make and eat some fresh and then also can a bunch for the winter. Makes for a very quick and easy meal, just open a can, add veggies and chicken, cook until done and serve over rice or quinoa. (Oh yeah, leave out the raisins, yuck). http://www.thyhandhathprovided.com/2008/10/curried-green-tomato-sauce.html
Simply in Season also has a really nice Green Tomato Relish (I’m not sure that’s the name, though). It’s a nice change up from your typical sweet relish.
Unless we have some serious ripening happen this week, I think I’ll be having a major green tomato problem, as well. Good luck!
Carol says
My favorite is Curried Green Tomato Pickle recipe from The Joy of Pickling. My family and friends love it. Do you have that book?
Carol says
Oh and also someone recently gave me a recipe for Green Tomato cake – I haven’t made one yet so I cannot vouch as to the tastiness.
Connie Reeder says
My Mom told me to pull my tomato plants up by the roots and hang the whole plant upside down in my shed. I did and my green tomatoes have been turning red every day! She said they will continue to do so to the very last one! I think this is a little too late for the ones you’ve pulled, but you may try it on one or two of the ones you still have planted????
With Jesus’ Sweet Love your way,
Con-
P.S. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your day to day journey of gardening and raising chickens, etc. It helps me hugely! 🙂
destiny says
I like the car bashing. Stewed green and red tomatoes r yummm.
Susan says
I was in Chuck’s produce today, and there was a guy with a table selling Kale Chips. He charges (gulp!) $7.99 for a 6 oz. bag!!!!
So I checked online and EVERYONE charges close to that price!!
For something so easy to grow and easy to process into chips….you might consider packaging some up fpr barter fare!!! 🙂
I think they might be the new foodie fad.
Wendy says
You had mentioned you didn’t want to store the green tomatoes, but if you put them in a paper bag with a couple apples, and close the top of the bag, the tomatoes will ripen quite quickly. I don’t have any green tomato recipes however.
Sherle says
This is YUMMY!! I made it for the first time last October and it was enjoyed by everyone in our family. http://moderncomfortfood.com/2010/09/green-tomato-salsa-verde/
Sherle says
Another recipe I intend to try is Green Tomato Pie. This link is from Paula Deen, Queen of Southern cooking and the pie looks delish. If you make it make sure to let us know how it comes out. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/green-tomato-pie-recipe/index.html
My tomatoes are still going strong and ripening away, (with this 90 degree weather, what happened to fall?), so I won’t have green tomatoes for another month or so.
Stacey says
Just have fried green tomatoes for dinner w/ remoulade sauce of course. If you still have tomatoes after that then you make pickled green tomatoes.
Lindsey says
Green Tomato Jam
Ingredients
•2-1/2 cups pureed green tomatoes (about 3 medium)
•2 cups sugar
•1 package (3 ounces) raspberry gelatin
Directions
•In a large saucepan, bring tomatoes and sugar to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in gelatin until dissolved. Skim off any foam. Pour into jars or freezer containers, leaving 1/2-in. head space. Cool before covering with lids. Refrigerate. Yield: about 3 cups.
Lindsey says
Green tomato jam with ginger and vanilla
Makes about 4 11-oz (300 g) jars
4 1/2 lbs green tomatoes (2 kg)
1/2 the weight in sugar of the tomatoes, once the tomatoes have been deseeded and diced
2-inch chunk ginger, peeled (5 cm)
1 vanilla bean
Juice of 1 lemon, organic if possible
Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally and squeeze out the seeds if they seem to have a lot of seeds. Cut the tomatoes into small dice and weigh them to find out what quantity of sugar you will need. Slice the ginger against the grain and then chop it finely. Slit the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds with a knife, holding each half flat against the board as you scrape.
Place the tomatoes, sugar, ginger, vanilla bean with its seeds and lemon juice in a large saucepan or a copper jam basin if you have one. Bring to a boil, stirring, then reduce the heat and let the jam bubble happily and reduce until thickened. It should look like a thick, syrupy green tomato sauce, which can take up to 2 hours. To test for doneness, drip some of the liquid onto a cold plate. If it sets, the jam is done.
Lindsey says
Spaghetti With Green Tomato-Bacon Sauce
Published September 30, 2008
Makes 4 servings
This quick, anytime pasta dish works well for a quick weekday supper or for late evening dining. Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese creates a creamy sauce when combined with the pasta water. Crispy bacon, sweet tomatoes and vibrant parsley accent the warm, white spaghetti strands. Always serve pasta on warmed plates.
Ingredients
•6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
•2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
•3 cloves garlic, minced
•1 pound green tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/4-inch dice
•Salt
•1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
•1/2 cup dry white wine
•2 tablespoons minced pepperoncini
•1/2 pound cappelini pasta
•2/3 cup freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese
•1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, plus more for garnish
•Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
In a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels. Drain and reserve 1 tablespoon bacon fat. Add the olive oil to the pan. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 60 seconds.
Raise the heat to medium high. Add the tomatoes, salt and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes soften and start to turn golden brown, about 7 minutes. Add the wine and pepperoncini and cook until the some of the liquid evaporates and the tomatoes are a bit saucy.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to the package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta.
Put the drained pasta back into the pot and add the cooked tomatoes, cheese, 1/2 cup parsley and cooked bacon. Toss until combined, adding reserved pasta water to moisten, if necessary. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper.
Divide the pasta among warm plates, sprinkle with additional parsley and serve immediately.
Lindsey says
Lacto Fermented Green Tomato Pickles
For 1 quart (make as many or as few as you wish to store)
1 wide mouth quart preserving jar
enough green tomatoes to fill the jar to 1 inch below the lid (only use tomatoes that are totally green, the ones that made you crazy at the start of the summer)
1 dill head or 1 fresh dill sprig or 2 Tbsp dried dill or dill seed)
1 hot pepper with the stem pulled off (optional)
1 large or 2 medium or 3 small cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp canning and pickling salt
4 Tbsp homemade whey (or substitute an additional Tbsp of canning and pickling salt)
water
Wash the tomatoes and remove their stems and place in the clean wide mouth jar to 1 inch below the rim. Add the garlic and hot pepper between the tomatoes and add the salt and whey, if using. Fill the jars with water to 1 inch below the rim and screw on the lids. Store at room temperature for 3-4 days (3 days when kept at 72°) before placing on the top shelf of your fridge. They can be eaten after the 3 – 4 days but are better after a month of storage. It’s normal if the brine is fizzy or there is white foam floating on the top. If the pickles go bad the smell will be completely off and you won’t want to eat them.
Connie Reeder says
Green Tomato Pie (by my friend, Sharon A.)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
two 9″ pie crusts, one for the lattice top
2 tablespoons margarine
4 small green tomatoes (2-1/2 cups)
1 medium tart green apple
Mix together sugar, flour and salt and put 1/2 of the mixture in an unbaked pie shell. Dot with butter. Slice unpeeled tomatoes very thin – quarter and core apple and slice very thin. Spread 1/2 of the tomato slices over flour mixture, lay apple slices on top with remaining tomatoes on top of that. Sprinkle with vinegar and spread the rest of the flour mixture over all. The filling will be higher than the crust , but will melt down.
Construct lattice crust by alternating slices of 2nd crust.
Bake pie in preheated 375 degree oven for 50 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy!
Con-
Lucky L says
Green Tomato Hot Dog Relish from the Ball Book of Home Preserving. If your HH and son like hot dogs so much, this would be great for them.
We had a freeze last week so I made a batch already.
Shelle says
I’m here on the east side of the state where we got a killer frost over a week ago. I was determined to make the best of a bad situation and discovered I could turn my green tomatoes into salsa verde. There are a ton of recipes online and on Pinterest, but I just grabbed my trusty Mrs. Wages seasoning packet and followed the instructions, using green tomatoes instead of red. The salsa verde turned out fabulous and I’m so happy all that fruit didn’t go to waste.
Becka says
Green tomato mincemeat is good–use for pies or for bar cookies. Here’s a recipe:
http://www.yankeemagazine.com/recipe/for/green-tomato-mincemeat/5189
mary carman says
Piccalilly, dice green tomatoes, half & thin slice onions, vinegar, sugar, salt, whatever seasonings you like and little water if needed. I like mine sweet for on hotdogs. fill jars, etc…
I love to can and my favorite is probably watermelon pickles. I make them both red and green for Christmas dinner…
Diane says
This is a good green tomato relish recipe: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1836,137163-238205,00.html
I cut the amounts in half, but used an entire red bell pepper instead of the green pepper. You could also mix the red and green pepper, or use hot peppers.