Here are two excellent recipes for using up green tomatoes leftover from the last of the summer harvest and a recipe for an excellent tomato salsa for when you still have ripe tomatoes. I've included a bonus recipe for a garlic ginger paste that is useful enough to keep in the fridge at all times. Most Asian recipes, Indian recipes, even Middle Eastern recipes use ginger and garlic together, and this saves you a step.

Simple Tomato Salsa for Canning

Most canned salsa recipes have basically no heat to them. I don't even know why they include any jalapeños at all. So, this one still preserves the ratios of the ingredients, but makes it so you can still taste some of the heat. It is still fairly mild to medium, this is not a super hot salsa, but it is remarkably fresh tasting salsa with a little heat to it.

7 quarts tomatoes, peeled, cored and chopped
5 cups peeled and chopped onion
3 cups finely chopped jalapeño peppers
1 cup seeded, chopped anaheim or other mild green chile
10 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 1/2 cups lime juice
4 1/2 tablespoons fine salt (canning/pickling salt, non-iodized)
1 cup finely chopped cilantro

In a large pot, combine all ingredients except the cilantro and heat over medium-high heat, stirring until the mixture comes to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro at the end.

Fill hot, sterilized pint or quart jars, leaving a half inch of headspace, wipe rims and seal with lid and ring. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. This will yield around 10 pints plus a 1/2 pint or so, or 5 quarts plus a pint and 1/2 pint or so.

Green Tomato Dill Relish

I like this relish at least as much as dill pickle relish, maybe more, and it is wonderful to use those green tomatoes at the end of the season, rather than let them go to waste.

8 pounds green tomatoes, washed and dried, stems and hard cores removed, finely diced
4 cups apple cider vinegar
2 cups of white wine vinegar
2 cups water
3/4 cup pickling salt
12 sprigs fresh dill + one for each jar
4 shallots, or one medium onion, peeled and finely diced
4 fresh chili peppers, cut in half lengthwise
2 tablespoons dried dill

In a large, heavy pot, combine vinegars, water, salt and fresh dill. Bring to a boil and cook for about half an hour at a high simmer. Remove dill sprigs.

Reduce heat, add tomatoes, shallots, peppers, dried dill, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Turn off heat.

Fill hot, sterilized pint jars with a quarter inch headspace, add remaining fresh dill to each jar. Seal and place in fridge or process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Makes about 6 pints. Will keep for three months in the refrigerator or for years in the processed jars.

Green Tomato Chutney

I got this recipe from Aunty Leila and then modified the method to make it easier for me to do in my busy home and kitchen. Using this method also means that the tomatoes and apples keep some of their firmness instead of turning into a mush. This is delicious, and again, uses those green tomatoes at the end of the season and turns them into something lovely to have in your pantry or refrigerator (hmmm, it's time to update that list, and tackle the ones on my freezer and pantry) to dress up some cold ham, grilled chicken, roasted or grilled fish, pork chops, you name it. This is one way you can cultivate or curate abundance. You can drizzle a little of this over a brie, then wrap it in puff pastry for a lovely hors-d'ouevre on the fly. Honestly, this could be eaten from a spoon.

4 cups cider vinegar
2 cups of sultanas (golden raisins)
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
2 seeded, chopped lemons
1 1/2 cup dark honey (you could use all brown sugar)
2 cups brown sugar
2 heaping tablespoons of garlic ginger paste
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoon ground coriander
2 tablespoon whole mustard seed
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon salt
12 cups green tomatoes, chopped
2 cooking apples, cored and chopped

In a large pot, combine all ingredients except for the chopped green tomatoes and apples, mixing well. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, to reduce the liquid and combine the flavors.

Add the chopped tomatoes and apples and simmer another 15 - 20 minutes, keeping an eye on it so nothing burns.

Ladle into sterile, hot, pint and/or half-pint canning jars, seal, process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes for half-pints, 15 minutes for pints. This will yield about 6 pints and 6 half-pints, plus some smaller jars, or about 10 pints. Any jars that aren't completely full can go into the refrigerator, and will last as long as you need them, if you don't eat them up first.

Garlic Ginger Paste

This is easiest to do in a food processor, but if you do not have one, you can grate the garlic and ginger into a jar and stir in the salt and oil.

1/2 cup peeled garlic cloves
1/2 cup peeled and roughly chopped ginger
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons safflower oil

Place garlic, ginger, and salt in a food processor. Grind until the mixture is finely chopped. Drizzle in the oil and process until smooth. Scrape into a jar and keep in the fridge indefinitely.

Labels: Frugality, Homemaking, Preserving the Harvest, Recipes, Tales from the Kitchen