I woke up this morning to the sound of radiators popping and cracking as they heated up and expanded. In other words, it's cold outside. Yesterday when I went out in the vineyard there was a fairly heavy frost in places that weren't sheltered by trees. I was wearing two fleece jackets, a hat, and gloves. I should have put on long underwear, but I hadn't thought to.
When I got back home, I decided to go pick the rest of the tomatoes and peppers out in the garden. There were quite a few fully ripe tomatoes to be gathered, and a lot of tomatoes that were just starting to turn pale pink. I picked them all. The pink ones will continue ripening. I also gathered up half a dozen bell peppers that are partly green and partly red..
Now the weather is supposed to turn rainy, and warm up. The kale plants will enjoy that. On dry days, we'll go pull out the tomato plants and get rid of them. Maybe we'll bring in some green tomatoes and see what we can do with them. We'll also gather up the winter squashes and pumpkins and store them somewhere. Let's hope that the rain isn't too constant and that we'll have decent working conditions.
Ce n'est pas les dernières , il y en a toute l'année à Super U .
ReplyDeleteSupermarket tomatoes just don't taste or smell the same, they are the poor relation of "home grown".
DeleteBut nice to have anyway!
Très drôle, Thierry.
DeleteIt was 6°C outside when I looked a few minutes ago. That is most definitely chilly!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to thnk that only a couple of weeks ago we were basking in warm sunshine. Hey ho.
Cold like that here too, Jean. Have you turned your heat on? We have.
DeleteHere in Virginia, I've turned the heat on two weeks ago. But, what else is new!
ReplyDeleteGreen tomatoes make delicious jam. I can send you the recipe if you can't find it.
Je trouve cette recette dans mes archives :
DeleteConfiture de tomates vertes
une recette d'Annie T. (1994)
5 pounds of green tomatoes
4 pounds of sugar
rind of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze the seeds, then cut the halves into thin slices. Put them into a large glass or china bowl and sprinkle with the sugar. Allow to marinate for 24 hours.
The next day, cook the tomatoes over a low flame in a heavy pot with the lemon juice and lemon rind for 2 hours. Stir from time to time with a wooden spoon.
Oui, c'est celle-là. L'as-tu jamais essayée?
DeleteYears ago, when I grew tomatoes in my yard in Virginia, I used to get a lot of green tomatoes at the end of the season. That's when Annie's recipe came in really handy.
Interesting...I'd never even heard of green tomato jam. Is it on the savory side? I known people to pickle green tomatoes.
DeleteProblem is, Walt and I don't eat much jam. I have jars of different home-made confitures and gelées down in the cellier that are 10 years old. One year, I made green-tomato ketchup, but we weren't crazy about it. Maybe some fried green tomatoes are in our future.
DeleteWe had a number of green tomatoes on our vines. Your recipe inspired me, so I made green tomato jam (conveniently, we harvested almost exactly 5 pounds). Although it's a little "vegetal" for spreading on toast, it is fantastic as a condiment with meats (pork or chicken). Ginger wants me to thank you for the recipe!
DeleteGinger and you are welcome. I'm glad you like the jam. Annie T. is a woman that CHM and I worked with in DC years ago. She's French and was a translator. Now she lives in France again. I haven't yet picked my green tomatoes and you have encouraged me to make the jam and use it as you say, as a kind of chutney.
DeleteI'm looking forward to seeing what you will be doing with those lovely tomatoes :)
ReplyDeletePoulet à la créole aujourd'hui, avec tomates, poivrons, ail, onion, et céleri. Et un peu de piment, bien sûr.
DeleteI might appreciate Florida more as the months go by :)
ReplyDeleteI grew up in North Carolina, I never had a fried green tomato.
My (step)grandfather had many acres that he farmed. Mostly corn . And then there were the tomatoes.
I have no idea how old I was before I had a tomato that was not picked from the garden rather than from the A&P :)
A&P is bankrupt and out of business. In Arlington, Va, it was replaced by a North Carolina grocer, Harris Teeter.
DeleteI have fond memories of garden-grown tomatoes when I was growing up in N.C. too. The plants loved the sandy soil of the Carolina coast. I especially remember luscious BLT sandwiches.
DeleteWhen I have lots of green tomatoes at the end of the season I make Chow Chow. It not only uses the green tomatoes, but also the small peppers that need to be picked before frost.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look up recipes for Chow Chow.
Deletechow chow is good with black eyed peas
DeleteHere in coastal Maine, we haven't had a frost yet, but it may come later this week. But when it does, it's usually the prelude to the beginning of a harsh, snowy winter, which won't happen to you Ken. Also, we haven't turned our heat on yet, but I can tell that many neighbors have.
ReplyDeleteWe've made it through the cold snap now, and temperatures have risen. They're saying 66F and sunshine tomorrow.
DeleteSince I planted soooo late this year, I may have green tomatoes at the end of our season (whenever that may be). I am just happy to have some red ones for now.
ReplyDeleteC in C, I never told you how good your potée with chicken sounded to me. I'll do that soon. I'm happy to have red tomatoes, and with any luck some more will ripen before we have to pull the plants out.
DeleteThe potée was delish, but I forgot to add the collards, which had already been cooked, at the end. Thanks for the inspiration.
Delete