Homemade ketchup is rich, full-bodied and infinitely better than the over-processed, corn syrup-laden commercial version.
Ingredients
7 pounds tomatoes, chopped
2 cups onion, chopped
1 cup bell pepper, chopped
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 1/4 cup cider vinegar
Spice packet:
12 whole cloves
15 whole allspice
6 cardamom pods
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
Method
Place chopped tomatoes, onions and peppers in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Press through a food mill to make a smooth sauce.
To make the spice packet, cut a 5-inch square of cheesecloth, place the spices in the centre and tie closed with a piece of twine.
Return the sauce to the pot and add sugar, vinegar and the spice packet.
Simmer on medium-low heat for 30 minutes to an hour until the sauce has reduced down to the desired consistency. Stir often to prevent the bottom burning.
Remove from the heat and discard the spice packet. Ladle the thickened sauce into hot, sterilized jars leaving ½ inch headspace and heat-process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
Makes about 3 pints.
Method
Place all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until everything is cooked and the mixture has thickened. Stir regularly to keep it from burning in the pan.
Pour the chutney into hot, sterilized jars leaving half an inch of headspace and heat-process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Makes about 4 cups.
In a small bowl, combine the baking soda and starch. Add the coconut oil, and stir it in until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a flexible food container -- this can be a small plastic tub, or a couple of muffin liners -- and refrigerate for a few hours, until hard.
(If you have an empty deodorant tub with a little wheel thing that pushes the stick up like a push-up ice pop, I'm fairly sure you could refill it with the coconut mixture. I couldn't bring myself to buy one only to throw out the deodorant stick, though, so I haven't tried it.)
Once hardened, pop the stone (or stones, if you've made several) out of the container(s), and rub it on like an ordinary deodorant. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge to preserve that rub-on texture, or at room temperature to apply like a lotion.
This amount will last one person 2-3 months.
Makes about 9 x 500 ml jars.
7 lb (3.2 kg) green plum tomatoes, about 35 medium
2 medium cooking onions
1/4 cup (50 ml) pickling salt
2 medium sweet red peppers
1 lemon
1 tbsp (15 ml) celery seed
3 tbsp (45 ml) mustard seed
1 tbsp (15 ml) Each: green peppercorns, dill seed
4 cups (1000 ml) vinegar
2 cups (500 ml) water
1 cup (250 ml) granulated sugar
• Day 1: Thoroughly wash and remove cores from tomatoes. Thinly slice tomatoes and onions crosswise, sprinkle with 1/4 cup (50 ml) pickling salt; cover and let stand 12 hours in a cool place.
• Day 2: Place 9 clean 500 ml mason jars on a rack in a boiling water canner; cover jars with water and heat to a simmer (180°F/82°C). Set screw bands aside. Heat SNAP LID® sealing discs in hot water, not boiling (180°F/82°C). Keep jars and sealing discs hot until ready to use.
• Thoroughly drain tomatoes and onions; do not rinse; set aside tomatoes and onions.
Wash and seed red peppers; slice into thin strips. Wash and thinly slice lemon; remove seeds; set aside.Tie celery seed in a square of cheesecloth, creating a spice bag.In a large, deep stainless steel saucepan, combine reserved tomato mixture, red pepper, lemon, spice bag, mustard seed, peppercorns, dill seed, vinegar, water and sugar; mix well. Bring to a boil, boil gently 1 minute; remove from heat. Pack pickles into a hot jar to within 3/4 inch (2 cm) of top of jar. Add hot cooking liquid to cover pickles to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of top of jar (headspace). Using nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if required, by adding more cucumbers and hot pickling liquid. Wipe jar rim removing any food residue. Centre hot sealing disc on clean jar rim. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight. Return filled jar to rack in canner. Repeat for remaining cucumbers and hot pickling liquid.When canner is filled, ensure that all jars are covered by at least one inch (2.5 cm) of water. Cover canner and bring water to full rolling boil before starting to count processing time. At altitudes up to 1000 ft (305 m), process –boil filled jars – 15 minutes.*When processing time is complete, remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes, then remove jars without tilting and place them upright on a protected work surface. Cool upright, undisturbed 24 hours; DO NOT RETIGHTEN screw bands. After cooling check jar seals. Sealed discs curve downward and do not move when pressed. Remove screw bands; wipe and dry bands and jars. Store screw bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark place. For best quality, use home canned foods within one year.
Meanwhile, set up breading station using 4 shallow dishes. Put milk in the first; flour, salt, pepper and seasoning in the second; eggs in the third; cornmeal in the fourth. Dip a tomato slice in the milk, then the flour mixture, then the egg, then the cornmeal. Fry tomato slices for 2 minutes on each side. If they are browning too quickly, turn the heat down. They will need about 4 minutes total for the tomato to become slightly softened on the inside. Repeat with all tomato slices. Remove tomatoes and drain on a paper towels. Serve warm.
Makes 16 slices.
Since yesterday's post was about green tomato mincemeat and I talked of glorious and beautiful fried green tomatoes... well here is the recipe I use. Enjoy!
Vegetarian Green-Tomato Mincemeat
3 pounds green tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 cup of salt
3 cups of seedless raisins (about 1 large package)
1/4 cup boiling real apple cider vinegar, if desired
2 large apples, chopped and cored but not peeled
1 large orange, chopped and cored but not peeled
1 cup of sugar
1 pint of DARK corn syrup
2 Tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
Spread sliced tomatoes in a non-metal container; sprinkle with salt. Let stand overnight. Rinse, drain and rinse quickly again. If desired, soak the raisins in 1/4 cup of boiling hot cider vinegar for 15 minutes to plump. Chop the tomatoes into small bits. (Use a food processor, it is easier and quicker). In a large non-aluminum kettle, place all of the ingredients, including tomatoes. Cover the pan and let simmer for 40 minutes. Uncover the pan. Allow the mincemeat to boil gently for 1 hour 15 minutes. During this time, stir the ingredients occasionally. Do not burn or the recipe will be ruined.
Dump into a pie shell, cover with second crust and bake at 350 for 40 minutes or, until the pie shell is nicely browned.
I have to do something with all the green tomatoes in my garden as we are well into October now. I can't stand seeing them go to waste. This is one way I will use them up. Another way... tomato relish oh and who could forget the fried green tomatoes!
