Tomato Harvest

Today I picked another 3 pounds of tomatoes and 6 more ounces tomatillos.  The heat has been pretty challenging to the tomatoes this year, however I’ve still picked more than 15 pounds so far.  Tomatillos are more or less like a tiny green tomato with a husk.  Many great Mexican salsas are made with tomatillos.  Salsa Verde is one of my favorites for pork, chips or enchiladas.  Traditionally, the husk is removed and the tomatillos are roasted in a hot oven or pan with yellow onions and jalapenos.  When I make my Salsa Verde, I plan on grilling the trio for a little twist.  

As far as the tomatoes go, Roasted Tomato Sauce is perfect for Sara and I. It’s becoming one of my favorite ways of preserving the harvest. Fresh mint and basil from the backyard are added, along with sun-dried tomatoes, balsamic, garlic and olive oil. This sauce is great with some toasted or grilled bread.  It’s delicious when tossed into some orzo as a side or whole wheat spaghetti as an entree.  I’ve frozen the Roasted Tomato Sauce in the past.  This time, I plan on canning it.  I also plan on canning the Salsa Verde.  Friends and family beware. You may see some of these sauces at Christmas!

English Cucumber Bread and Butter Pickles

The cucumbers in the garden have been producing very well this year. Who doesn’t love eating fresh cucumbers with a touch of salt or in a salad? Once the fridge drawer starts getting filled by the pound, it’s time to make some pickles! 

The variety that I have growing this year is the Telegraph Improved Cucumber.  It’s an heirloom English variety that’s very tender, crisp and mild in flavor.  They can grow to 18” long.  A couple that I’ve picked from the garden weighed in at 13 oz each.  I have a few vines growing on a trellis. Cucumber and squash growing habits are similar in a couple of ways. If your cucumber vines are happy, they’ll keep you busy come harvest time. There’s a very short timeline between a perfectly ripe cucumber and an over ripe, unusable one. They also take up a lot of precious space if allowed to run on the ground. It’s definitely a more common practice to make pickles from smaller cucumbers.  The smaller “pickling” cucumbers contain more water, making them crunchier and better able to stand up to heating and pickling.  To make these refrigerator bread and butter pickles I allowed the pickling solution to cool before adding to the cucumbers and onions. Another helpful pointer is to soak the cucumbers and onions in ice water for a couple of hours before pickling.  Following is the recipe that I’ve added my own touch to.  I love the pickled onions, so it may seem that there’s a lot. A few days in the fridge is all that’s required to infuse the cucumbers and onions.  You’ll be enjoying homemade pickles in less than a week.  

3-4 English type cucumbers

1 large yellow onion

1 C white vinegar

½ C apple cider vinegar

1 ½ C sugar

1 ½ teaspoons mustard seeds

1 teaspoon whole allspice

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

½ teaspoon tumeric

¼ teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon salt

(1) Slice cucumbers into ¼” disks and the onions into ¼” strips.  Make an ice bath in a large mixing bowl.  Add the cucumbers and onions to the ice bath and allow to soak for 2-3 hours.  

(2) Over medium heat, meld everything for the pickling liquid together, being sure that the sugar and salt are dissolved.  Set the liquid aside and cool to room temperature.

(3) Remove the cucumbers and onions from the ice bath and drain briefly in a colander.  Pack the cucumbers and onions in a glass jar.  Once the jar is filled, add the room temperature liquid.

(4) Allow to pickle in the fridge for at least 1 full day.  Enjoy for up to 2 months.