Plenty of green tomatoesIt's a good thing we have a recipe for green tomato jam — confiture de tomates vertes — because the tomatoes aren't really ripening.
One looks like it is trying to ripen.Maybe it will be yellow instead of red.
There's a second red Roma out there. We ate the first one. And then maybe the other tomatoes we planted are of the yellow variety and won't ever turn red at all. That would be fine. We just don't remember.
Still getting blossomsI'm not sure I'd even like green tomato jam. I've never tried it. But when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade, no?
From left to right, bell peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, greenbeans, and summer squash. The bare plot in the foreground
is where I planted collard greens, which are sprouting now.
I'm still working in the far corner. Yesterday I put down some stepping stones out there and planted some sedum that I had in a pot. I watered. Gisèle, who gave me thornless blackberry plants, came over and approved where I'd planted them. She said they looked good, even though the leaves are a little wilted. That's natural when you transplant them, she said.
Sunset over the vineyard19 August 2008
One of the reasons I like having made the far corner of the yard accessible is the view of sunsets from there. Click on the pictures with your mouse to see them at full size.
My mother always used to add slices of green tomates to any stew or casserole she was making, they added an extra interest and didn't taste at all sour when cooked; maybe you could try that Ken?
ReplyDeleteI have a green tomato mincemeat recipe which I used to mop up end-of-season unripe tomatoes, back in the days when I overplanted, and then on Thanksgiving I'd make fruitcakes with it--I see you reeling back in horror, but this fruitcake is actually delicious at Christmas (the addition of brandy as cakes are cooling helps a lot).
ReplyDeleteI hope it won't come to this for the St. Aignan 2008 tomato harvest, but let me know if you are interested in the recipe.
Time and warm weather will ripen the tomatoes. It looks wonderful, wish I was there. DG
ReplyDeleteA better sunset view is a worthy goal ;-)
ReplyDeleteMy MIL made a relish with equal parts of green tomatoes and bell peppers in a sugar and vinegar solution. This relish is very good with black eyed peas.
I've got my fingers crossed for your 'maters to ripen.
We used to make confiture de tomates vertes at Le Château d’Amondans to serve along side foie gras. Think more in terms of a chutney than something to serve on toast.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't the mature ones ripen/redden after you pick them (after all hope for vine-ripening is past, of course)?
ReplyDeleteIt's not ideal, but maybe better than having to use all of them green.
Green or red, those tomatoes are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYou could always make Fried Green Tomatoes. If you don't have a good recipe, I'll bet your mother does. (maybe a recipe isn't even necessary)
BettyAnn
Peter, good idea. I think I'll look for some green-tomato chutney recipes and see if they are very different from the confiture recipe I already have.
ReplyDeleteChris, I plan to leave the tomatoes on the vine as long as they need to be there and as long as the weather stays decent. Then yes, I'll pick them and wait some more.
BettyAnn, I will ask my mother.
Louise, I'm not horrified by fruitcake. It can be very good, especially soaked in rum or cognac or something else with good flavor.
And stella, good ideas. I'll do that when the opportunity presents itself.
I was in a meeting this afternoon and the woman sitting next to me said that she made a terrible mistake yesterday. She stopped at the store in her small town yesterday afternoon on her way home from work and did not lock her car. She came out and there were two bushels of tomatoes on her back seat, it is that time of the season in small towns when you have to lock your car to keep the neighbors from trying to share the harvest. Life in a small town, in the mid-south. DG
ReplyDeleteIt's early days yet. Your tomatoes will probably ripen some more. If they are still green when the weather gets too cold, you can put the greenies into brown paper bags or under glass to ripen. Your garden looks gorgeous, and those are as ever wonderful pictures, thanks.
ReplyDeleteLove Travel's story about the furtive tomato-dispenser. In some parts of the country, it's zucchini.