Green Tomato Jam

Green Tomato Jam

This is now my second year to make Green Tomato Jam. If you grow tomatoes, at the end of the season you'll have green tomatoes. I'll leave the tomatoes for awhile, for some to turn red, but eventually you'll either toss them (compost or chickens), or like me, look for uses.

Typical recipes are for a pie - supposedly similar to apple pie. It's ok. But since we don't eat a lot of desserts, I want my desserts to be our favorites. Another is frying slices, which is good. I posted one recipe along with my end of season put-up of Zucchini Potato Soup, which tastes great defrosted for winter eating! This year I tried a green tomato relish (which I need to label in my fridge, cuz I recently pulled it out thinking it a tomatillo green salsa). It's ok too, but I haven't used it much. I'm going to try it as a sandwich spread, which could be good.

I found the recipe from Splendid Table. I used to listen to that NPR radio program every weekend till our station exchanged it with another program. Instead, I now get emailed weekly recipes and can listen to excerpts or podcasts. The recipe was actually in connection with another recipe - A Green Tomato Tart, which has a bottom ricotta and mascarpone (or cream cheese) layer. I did make the tart once, and will try it again, but typically just make the jam.

Green Tomato Jam

3# green tomatoes, cored and chopped (1/2" pieces)
2 2/3 cups sugar
2-3 lemons (2 zested)
1/8 tsp salt and scant 1/4 tsp pepper
4" cinnamon stick, broken

Hmmmm, now that I type this I realize I've never cored the tomatoes! and I've made quite a few batches. I will cut them in half and sometimes make a "V" for cutting out the stem end and that'll take out some of the white core. The other 1/2" piece thing I sometimes do, not an exact measurement, but realizing there's two end results depending on your preferences. Monte and some friends like the chunky jam. I could do with less chunks. This current batch I'm in process of making, I did literally hand cut yesterday (as I was needing to "fold" my sourdough bread dough every 30 minutes four times, and I was listening to an audiobook - so it was a relaxing time).

Chopped Green Tomatoes and Sugar sitting for 24 hours

Sometimes I use the food processor to chop them. Pulse them a bit and not too much, so you DO end up with some chunks.

The tomatoes and sugar need to be mixed together and sit for 24 hours. Lots of juice will be extracted.

Add the lemons. Zest the lemons and then cut off the white pith and chop. Two large lemons are enough - three if small to medium. Add the seasoning.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 40 minutes (210 degrees?). I don't take it's temperature. After awhile I'll get some jam juice on my spoon, let it cool a bit and slowly tilt back into the pot. When the drips start coming together slowly into one drop, it means it's thickened up about right. You don't want it runny. Remove cinnamon sticks.

Jar up and freeze. I haven't canned this up. My friend does. I do know, that if you leave it out, even in a cool cellar, it will develop mold. It holds up well in a refrigerator.

Now some of you are going to want the Tart recipe.

Tart Crust

1 cup (5oz) flour
2 oz almond meal
3 Tb sugar
3 oz (6 Tb) butter
1 large egg
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp almond extract
1-3 Tb water
Mix together, cutting the butter and liquids into the dry ingredients. Chill. Roll out to fit a removable bottom tart pan. Bake at 375 with pie weights to keep crust from bubbling (I keep pie weights and a folded piece of foil in a container in my pantry) for 15 minutes; then 5-10 minutes without the weights. Cool. Then spread in -

Vanilla Ricotta Cream Filling

1/3 cup whipped cream or 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese (cream cheese, replacement)
3/4 cup ricotta
3 Tb sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Puree this together and Chill.

1 Hour before serving, spread the Ricotta mixture in the tart shell. Top with 1 3/4 - 2 cups Green Tomato Jam. Chill at least 40 minutes then 20 minutes outside the fridge. Serve.

I never took a picture of the finished tart! It was good. The base tart with ricotta filling (which I used cream cheese for only because I couldn't find mascarpone in the back of my cheese drawer, which I thought I had) would be good with any topping. Monte thought layering on some thin slices of pear, which we had excess of at the time, would be good.

I gave the jam as Christmas presents last year along with home brewed Vanilla Extract.

Basil Pesto and Potato Chicken Recipes

I've made pesto for years and frozen it. All these years I've made it with pine nuts, and then freeze without the parmesan cheese - adding it as I use the pesto. Now I'm going to be making it with my soaked and dried walnuts instead of the pine nuts. And I'm not going to add the nuts when freezing, adding them as well as the parmesan when using. I'll occasionally still use pine nuts, but I'm liking the walnut variety better.

First put the basil leaves, 2 oz is about 2 cups, in a food processor. I've not tried making pesto in a blender, but it probably would work too.

Basil in food processor

Add 1/4 cup walnuts or pine nuts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 large cloves of garlic
pinch of salt

Process, then add 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan.

Walnuts, garlic, olive oil added to basil in food processor

Processed Basil Walnut Pesto

PESTO POTATO CHICKEN

- I cook up a chicken breast or two in plenty of salted water to cover till tender. Remove the chicken to cool enough to shred.
- Cut a potato or two in match-stick pieces and add to the water you cooked the chicken in.
- About 10 minutes before you think the potatoes will be tender add about 1/4-1/2 pound of broken up fettucini pasta to the pot to cook till tender.

Match-stick cut potatoes cooking in chicken broth and added fettucini

My goal is to not have much liquid left by the time everything is done cooking. If you do have lots of liquid left, pour or ladle it off, or thicken it with arrowroot or cornstarch. Add the shredded chicken and toss with the pesto sauce and serve. I've made this with home-made pasta ... My favorite homemade pasta is sourdough pasta. I'll be posting that recipe in the future.

Potato, Pasta and shredded chicken, all cooked in chicken broth, tossed with basil walnut pesto

I made this pesto with my soaked and dried walnuts to test the flavor. Now that I know it's great, I'll be making a lot of the beginning process of the basil without the walnuts and parmesan for freezing - both in either freezer bags, containers, or ice cube tray portions.

For example - the ice cube portion of pesto is excellent on a baked halved tomato, adding the crushed nuts and grated parmesan on top, then broil a bit at the end. I use my frozen pesto on homemade pizza too. It's good tossed with cooked spaghetti squash and chopped tomatoes.  

Currants

Freezing Currants

 I've been harvesting currants. I've planted so many currant bushes . . . When they are all as mature as the couple I've been harvesting from . . . they are going to be . . . overwhelming! So far I've mostly been freezing them. Putting them initially on cookie sheets to freeze, then bagging up. We use them with our homemade yogurt ice cream and many mornings with our dairy kefir, yogurt, oatmeal, homemade soaked cold cereal . . . When I do have an abundance I'll be making wine with them too. I'll also dry them.

Currant Pie

This year I made a currant pie. It was too sweet, so next year I'll make more pies and tweak the recipe till just right.

Raspberries in the Freezer

Raspberries frozen first on cookie sheets

My earliest Raspberries to harvest and freeze are wild ones. My earliest perennial bed Monte made for me had dirt brought from our woods and the raspberries sprouted from that dirt. Since they produce well in that spot, I let them exist and am picking them when peonies are blooming.

I thought our wild raspberries were everbearing, but found out "Wrong" when one year I cut them all back in the fall and got no berries the next year. I now have everbearing raspberries which produce later in the summer. So now I have two harvests, or almost a constant supply of raspberries from mid July till frost.

To freeze berries spread them on cookie sheets first and freeze, then bag them up and put back in the freezer, labeled. We mainly eat our frozen fruit for breakfast with homemade yogurt and dairy kefir, soaked and dried cereal or oatmeal.

Emery eating raspberries "Papa" picked for him

I met my son Travis, Sarah, Emery and Scout at the zoo. Monte had picked some raspberries into a small container for me to take to Emery. Emery shared his raspberries from "Papa" with everyone.