To Thanksgiving And Beyond

Yes, I still have a precious few tomatoes wrapped in newspaper, ripening in a brown paper bag in a cool, dark, dry place in the garage. Would that I had enough to last through the entire winter. Alas, that is not the case.

Yeah! It's National Cake Day!

What better way to celebrate a day dedicated to one of America's favorite desserts than to use some of those green tomatoes that remain in the garden that won't ripen on the vine before the first heavy frost arrives? This recipe makes a moist, spicy cake that most will enjoy. You may sprinkle the finished cake with confectioners' sugar or a nice dollop of vanilla fat free yogurt. And it can be made with or without the nuts, either way its very tasty.

 

Preparation time: 25 min.

Baking time: 45 min.

 

Ingredients

4 cups chopped green tomatoes
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup light stick margarine
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1-Place chopped tomatoes in a bowl and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt. Let stand 10 minutes. Place in a colander, rinse with cold water and drain. 

2-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan. 

3-Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat until creamy. 

4-Sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add raisins and nuts to dry mixture; add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Dough will be very stiff. Mix well. 

5-Add drained tomatoes and mix well. Pour into the prepared 9 x 13 inch pan. 

6-Bake for 40 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.

7-Now gather about two dozen of your favorite people together to help celebrate the day and enjoy your cake!

The Green Gourmet

The days are growing shorter and cooler here and it's obvious that some of my tomatoes won't ripen before the first frost arrives. There's no need to panic, however. There are any number of tasty dishes that can be created using green tomatoes. Here is a simple, delicious recipe that uses them.

Curried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients

2 tbsps butter or olive oil
2 tbsps minced onion
1 tsp curry powder
2 cups green tomatoes, chopped
salt and pepper or non-salt seasoning

Melt butter/heat oil, then add onion and cook slowly until translucent. Add curry powder and tomatoes and cook until heated thoroughly. Season to taste.

This dish is really good by itself when spooned over rice or as a side for meat or poultry.

Southern Delight

It has come to my attention. I say, it has come to my attention that there are some who have never, I say, never sampled the southern delicacy known as fried green tomatoes. It's a travesty, I say, a travesty that this is the case. Especially when they are so easy to make you'd have to be busier than a centipede at a foot counting contest not to have time to whip up some for yourself. So why don't you give them a try? Unless you're too much of a Yankee, I say, Yankee to do so.