Green Tomato Heaven

With the quickly approaching season of frost and wet otherwise known as Autumn, I have been watching my tomato plants with suspicion.  The green tomatoes look healthy and plump.  The reddish tomatoes look sad and sickly and not at all the full scarlet blush of mid-summer.  So in preparation for the end of tomato season, I spent today working on three new green tomato recipes.  I was expecting mediocre results but was delighted, instead, with three tantalizing new creations that I can't wait to try in six weeks when they have seasoned.

We all know fried green tomatoes are fabulous.  Green tomatoes can also be wrapped in paper and allowed to ripen slowly in a box or paper bag.  But I was hoping for something more from my green tomato surplus.

I ran across some green tomato recipes in some food preservation books I've been reading that really intrigued me.  Sweet Tomato Wheels are basically a bread and butter tomato pickle.  Piccalilli is a green tomato relish similar to hot dog relish but the recipe I had used slightly more sophisticated spices than your average hot dog relish.  And Green Tomato Chutney is a sweet and savory tomato relish that was amazingly complex tasting!

For these and similar recipes, I have really enjoyed using The Pickled Pantry by Andrea Chesman.  You can also find basic recipes for these doing a basic Internet search.  Make sure to follow all USDA guidelines for canning and safe food preservation.  I canned my tomato creations in a hot-water bath and plan to let them season for at least six weeks until the full flavor develops.  So, basically they will be ready to be cracked open around Thanksgiving.  What perfect timing!