10.13.2011

Green Tomato Relish

I have mostly said goodnight to my veggie garden for another year.  In doing so, I harvested (all farmer Joe-like) what was left of the tomato crop and came out with a ton of green tomatoes.  In years past I have put the greenies in a paper bag and waited patiently for them to turn red or shared them with neighbors. 

This year I wanted to try something different since I had so many tomatoes! 

Enter Green Tomato Relish.


I sort of used this recipe from allrecipes.com and another one that I can't quite put my finger on at the moment.  Here is what I put in my relish:

All my green tomatoes, chopped (pictured above)
3 white onions, chopped (other recipe called for four, but I couldn't chop any more... crying too much, ha!  I can't imagine having to do 12)3 green peppers, seeded and chopped
2 red peppers, seeded and chopped
1 cup cider vinegar
4 cups sugar
3 Tablespoons mustard seeds
3 Tablespoons celery seeds

Chop the tomatoes, onions (so many tears -- and Sammy laughing at me and trying to steal onion bits while I did it), and peppers.  Bring the vinegar, sugar and seed mixture to a boil.  Add the rest of the chopped veggies and simmer/boil for 10-15 minutes.  Then can; required a 15 minute water bath.

I am quite well known by my husband for 'blowing up' the kitchen while I cook or make something.  I find a way to use nearly every pot, bowl, utensil, knife... well you get the picture.  I'm messy, but have a lot of fun! 

And here is a little peak mid-way.


And the result... it's pretty.  And oh my goodness it tastes amazing!!  So far, I have had it in a wrap, on a turkey sandwich, and on a hamburger.  You can definitely substitute this relish for sweet pickles on whatever you eat.

And the bonus is that I grew those tomatoes!!  Neat, right?  Sort of a things coming full circle thing. 


Next time I want to experiment a little bit with making this more of a spicy relish.  I also wouldn't mind trying a version with apples in it.  But there will be a period of leaves, white stuff, spring, and summer before I have another go. 

Oh, and speaking of things homemade.  Check out this pink applesauce I made the other night. 

PINK!

Pepto pink. 


The color was accidental.  I did the normal little bit of water in a pot, add quartered apples (skin, seeds, and all) boiling down till the apples are soft.  Then run the mixture through a Foley mill. 

I am guessing these particular apples had a lot of red pigment in the skin.  Made for a pretty pink sauce to make us smile at dinner time!!

Hope you are enjoying a bit of cooking time in the kitchen as well... what have you been making?

7 comments:

Shiloh said...

Thank you! I'm keeping my eye out for green tomato recipes.:) Lol, I've never seen homemade applesauce that is that light yellow color. It's always pink, or brown...:(

Beka said...

I made sauce the other day that came out purple. Andrew wouldn't eat it.

Wendy said...

Fantastic looking relish! I have a sweet hot dog relish that uses cucumbers that looks similar, although I might have to try this green tomato one next year! By the way, you need an Alligator cutter :) I can't imagine having to chop all my peppers, onions, carrots, celery, etc. by hand for relish, pasta sauce, salsa, etc. You can get them at Ashton Green (http://www.ashtongreen.com/p-580-original-alligator-set-with-1-4-blade.aspx). I have the stainless steel version, but it doesn't look like they carry it anymore.

It is fabulous!

Jo said...

Your green tomato relish looks fab! I love relishes, so if I manage to grow any tomatoes this season (we're coming into summer here in Aus) I'll try it. And I love your pink apple sauce - very pretty!

Wendy said...

Mmmm, I love applesauce and that pink batch looks yummy!

MJ said...

the relish and the pink applesauce look so yummy!!

The kids have been going through an applesauce frenzy lately, maybe due to all the tummy troubles we've had lately. I really would love to make our own, but the apples we buy here aren't that great. Most have traveled miles to get here and are underripe :(. A trip to whole foods might be warranted...thanks for the inspiration!
xo

Kei said...

Not much of a fan of tomatoes, but that relish looks delicious! (As does the apple sauce!) It must be awesome to be able to make things from what you've grown :)

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