Seeing green? Try these tomato recipes

Seeing green? Try these tomato recipes by Kate Stewart Here it is, Monday morning in late August, and there are only three ripe tomatoes in my garden. With seven tomato plants and only three ripe tomatoes, it is hard to believe it's actually Aug. 30. There is something disconcerting about this situation.

The promise of a bumper crop of tomatoes has been teasing me since July in the form of numerous green tomatoes dangling on the tomato plants. However, at this time, it looks to be a promise that is not going to be kept. I've been talking with a number of neighbors who are in the same situation of wondering what to do with a bumper crop of green tomatoes. This is a first for those of us who have been chatting together, but, after consulting some of my grandmother's cookbooks, I've realized that folks in days gone by have survived tomato-unfriendly summers quite well.

And while the cookbook sources for these recipes are not contemporary publications, they do cover a range of possible uses for green tomatoes beyond the classic Fried Green Tomato. So, if you too are faced with a multitude of tomatoes that are reluctant to ripen, here are a few recipes that you might consider when you gather your tomatoes just before the first frost.

The Household Searchlight Recipe Book 1938

Migliario, Allard, Titus, & Nunemaker,

The Household Magazine, Topeka, KS

Mustard Pickles

3 cups cubed cucumbers 1/2 cup salt

4 cups small

green halved tomatoes 3 cups sugar

2 cups small cucumbers 1/2 pound mustard (yes, that is pound)

2 cups small onions 1 cup flour

4 cups coarsely chopped

large green tomatoes

2 heads cauliflower

broken in florets

6 green peppers, cut in strips 3 quarts vinegar

2 Tablespoons turmeric

1/2 cup vinegar

Heat 3 quarts vinegar to boiling. Add vegetables, except cucumbers, and scald thoroughly. Remove vegetables. Combine sugar, turmeric, mustard, salt, and flour. Blend to a smooth paste with 1/2 cup vinegar. Add to boiling vinegar, stirring constantly. Cook until thick and smooth. Add all vegetables, including cucumbers. Stir until well blended. Heat thoroughly.

Green Tomato Pickles

10 pounds green tomatoes 1 quart vinegar

2/3 cup salt 1 cup sugar

1 1/2 quarts water 2 tablespoons white

mustard seed

5 pounds white onions

2 tablespoons celery seed

Wash and slice tomatoes. Peel and slice onions. Place tomatoes and onions in large crock in alternate layers. Sprinkle each layer with salt. Cover with a plate. Weight down. Let stand overnight. Drain. Add 2 cups vinegar and 2 cups water. Heat to boiling. Drain. Add 2 cups vinegar, 4 cups water, sugar, celery seed, and mustard seed. Boil slowly, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.

Pepper Relish

1 peck green tomatoes, sliced 1 tablespoon broken ginger root

6 large onions, chopped 2 tablespoons

broken cinnamon stick

3 teaspoons whole cloves 1 teaspoon whole allspice

6 green peppers, chopped 3 quarts vinegar

1/4 pound white mustard seed 4 cups sugar

1 cup salt

2 quarts water

Sprinkle salt over tomatoes and peppers. Allow to stand overnight. Drain thoroughly. Add 1 quart vinegar and 2 quarts water. Boil vegetables 15 minutes. Drain. Combine 2 quarts vinegar and 4 cups sugar. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Add mustard seed. Tie cloves, cinnamon, allspice, and ginger root loosely in a cheese-cloth bag. Add to syrup. Add vegetables and simmer 2 hours, sitting occasionally.

Green Tomato Mince-Meat

1 peck green tomatoes 1 pound suet, chopped*

1 quart sliced

apples, fresh or dried cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, to taste

1 pound seedless raisins 2 1/2 pounds brown sugar

salt 3 lemons

Wash tomatoes. Cut in small pieces. Sprinkle with salt. Let stand overnight. Drain. Add sufficient water to prevent sticking. Cook 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Add lemon juice, grated rind 1 lemon, and white of 1 lemon cut in small pieces. Add apples, suet, raisins, and sugar. Add spices to taste and a few grains of salt. Simmer slowly, stirring frequently, until tomatoes and apples are tender and flavors are blended. Pack in freshly sterilized jars. Seal. This recipe of preserves serves well as pie filling.

*If suet is not to your liking, 2 cups dark corn syrup with a cup of vinegar is a possible, but not perfect, substitute.

Sweet Green Tomato Pie

1 pint green tomatoes 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoon flour 1 tablespoon butter

Wash tomatoes and slice. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg; sprinkle over sliced tomatoes generously. Pour into pastry-lined pie pan. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust. Bake in moderate oven (375? F) about 40 minutes.

Blue Ribbon Recipes: County Fair Winners Cookbook 1968

Garlic-Dilled

Green Tomatoes

3 quarts green cherry tomatoes

2 quarts white vinegar

12 cloves garlic 3 cups water

6 sprays dill 1/2 cup salt

Wash and pack tomatoes in jars. Add two cloves garlic and 1 spray dill to each pint. Boil vinegar, water and salt mixture about 5 minutes or until salt is dissolved. Pour over tomatoes; seal.

Mrs. Pat Carpender,

Smithflat, CA

Elhlorado Co. Fair

Green Tomato Pickle

5 pounds green tomatoes 1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 pound white onions 1 tablespoon celery seed

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon salt 1 pint vinegar

1 tablespoon

white mustard seed

Wash and slice tomatoes. Peel and slice onions. Place tomatoes and onions in crock in alternate layers; sprinkle each layer with salt. Cover with plate; weight down. Let stand overnight. Drain. Add 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup water. Heat to boiling; drain. Add remaining vinegar and 2 cups water, sugar, celery seed, and mustard seed. Boil slowly for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pack in sterilized jars and seal.

Mrs. Annie Sussart,

Trinidad, CO, Las Animas County Fair

Bordeaux Sauce (a relish)

2 quarts chopped

green tomatoes

2 ounces celery seed

4 quarts chopped cabbage 2 ounces mustard seed

6 large onions, chopped 4 tablespoons salt

2 pounds sugar 2 quarts vinegar

2 red peppers, chopped 1 teaspoon turmeric

Mix all ingredients; cook slowly for 1 hour. Seal in jars. Yield: 12 pints.

Mrs. Harry Hanson,

Willard, MT

Fallon County Fair

Sandwich Spread

14 green peppers

2 cups brown sugar

6 onions

3 tablespoons

prepared mustard

6 red peppers

6 tablespoons flour

8 green tomatoes

1 quart salad dressing

1 1/2 cups vinegar

Grind vegetables together and scald in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain well. Put in large pan and add vinegar and sugar; cook 8 minutes. Make paste or batter of mustard and flour and add to ingredients. Cook 3 more minutes; add salad dressing and cook until desired thickness, about 4 minutes. Seal at once in sterilized jars.

Mrs. Dora Weaver

Letart, WV

Mason County Fair

1 peck equals 2 gallons dry weight

For those of you who are looking for more contemporary recipes, check Green Tomatoes on Google and foodtv.com. Both sites offer very nice selections of recipes including some of the yummiest sounding versions of fried green tomatoes I've seen. My grandmother would have been impressed!