What to do with green tomatoes
Most years, I pick a handful of green tomatoes in the afternoon when weather forecasters are forecasting a frost that night. If I doubt that frost will really arrive, I may cover the plants and see if I can keep them bearing a bit longer. But this year has been different.
No predictions of frost yet. (I'm an urban gardener in Zone 6.) But my tomatoes haven't been ripening well for the past month. Often, half ripens and, whether I pick it and take it indoors or leave it on the vine, the other half of the tomato takes forever to do the same.
So I have many more unripened tomatoes this fall than I usually do. And the question now is: What do I do with them?
Although I have a few tried-and-true recipes for green tomatoes, I started poking around on the Web to see what else I might find that sounded interesting. And here's what I came up with:
I liked the idea of Pickled Green Tomatoes and the story that Garden Girl tells about it.
In an article on various ways to use up fall tomatoes, Dr. Stephen Allen Christensen reminded me about Piccalilli, a relish I always enjoyed but haven't prepared in years.
Who would have ever imagined a spice cake recipe that contains 4 cups of fresh green tomatoes? Mrs. Mordecai says it's pretty good, so I'm wiling to give it a try.
She has bunches of other ideas, too, including Green Tomato Raspberry Jam, made with Jell-O.
Green Tomato and Mushroom Lasagna sounds interesting and very fall-like.
Somewhere along the way, I picked up the idea of subbing fresh green tomatoes for the diced ripe ones I always sprinkle over the top of our favorite grilled chicken pizza.
I also wished I had found Susan's Seven Second Tomato Glut Solution much earlier in the season. But I've got it tucked away for next summer.
All these ideas ought to put my crop of green tomatoes to delicious use. But in case I need more, what are your favorite ways of using unripe tomatoes?
