The ripe tomatoes have been eaten in sandwiches, turned into sauces and pickles.
Now gardeners are faced with the question of what do with the green tomatoes that have been picked, perhaps to avoid potential frost conditions.
If mincemeat or fried green tomatoes are out of the question, this week’s recipes offer two other ideas for making use of those green tomatoes.
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Green Tomato Apple Pie
pastry for two-crust 9 inch pie
2 1/2 cups peeled and sliced green tomatoes
2 cups apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup sultana raisins
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsps. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
2 tbsps. butter
Place tomatoes in a large boil and cover with boiling water. Let sit abut 5 minutes before peeling. Slice evenly to match size of apples. Peel, core and slice apples into even pieces as for regular pie. Wash raisins in hot water and drain.
Combine tomatoes, apples, raisins, sugars, flour, spices and lemon rind. Stir to blend.
Turn into a pastry-lined pie plate. Dot with butter then arrange top crust over the filling. Flute the edges and cut air vents in centre of top crust.
Bake in a preheated 450 degrees F oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake another 45-50 minutes. Cool on rack. Serve warm with ice cream. May be frozen.
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Green Tomato Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsps. baking soda
2 tsps. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsps. allspice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups finely chopped green tomatoes
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat 2 layer cake pans with baking spray. Line bottoms with rounds of parchment paper and spray again.
Combine flour, soda and spices in a small bowl.
In a large bowl beat oil and sugar for about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each egg. Add tomatoes and mix until incorporated.
Add flour mixture to green tomato mixture and mix until combined.
Divide batter between prepared pans and bake for 45-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans about 15 minutes. Invert onto racks and peel off parchment. Cool completely.
Fill between layers with a favourite jelly or jam. Frost with a favourite cream cheese frosting, using large amounts to add more richness.
Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
