It’s calmer now — a slower pace that is as satisfying as its
welcomed. This house has been percolating all week. Having gleaned the garden
ahead of freezing weather, the garage was full of green — green tomatoes,
tomatillos, and green chilies and peppers of multiple varieties. All of which
begged the inevitable question:
“What are we going to do with all this stuff?”
After all, we have a lot invested in those burgeoning trays, starting with the
fabrication of soil blocks last winter, seeding, watering and nurturing in the
greenhouse through early spring; transplanting into the garden, irrigating,
trellising, weeding and finally picking. There is the cost of seed invested in
those trays, plus time and water, muscle and months. We want as little as
possible to go to waste.
And so first, the usuals: fermenting various vegetables; dehydrating peppers; salsa verde
with the tomatillos and peppers; chow chow with green tomatoes and peppers;
salsa and marinara with the riper tomatoes...and peppers.“But then what?”
I recalled the dozens of jars of “bread and butter” jalapeños
we have purchased and wondered aloud why we couldn’t make some of our own?
And
so we did.
And what about preparing that hallowed southern staple,
fried green tomatoes?
And so we did.
Chopping, assembling, simmering, brining; canning, freezing,
pickling. The house has been a humid fog of steam from the water bath canners —
both of them.
“But now what?”We read about stowing green tomatoes away in a cool and covered place for shelf ripening. “Hmmm,” we thought with a smile; “a few more weeks — if not months — of BLT’s!”
And so we did.
But still we had a few trays of this-n-that remaining. “So
what shall we do with this?” we wondered aloud.
“I suppose we could, you know, eat it now. You know, fresh.”
Hmmm. That’s an idea.
And so we did.
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