This morning I baked pumpkin bread, with a recipe I like that uses olive oil and mostly whole wheat pastry flour. It is delicious for an afternoon break or even breakfast.
Later, I went to the garden to see what was still there. Flowers. The calendulas have come on now that it is cool.
The zinnias are still blooming, but showing a lot more flower heads whose seeds will need to be scattered.
And along with the zinnias there were honey bees and bumble bees, getting what they still can.
I brought home chard, kale, beet greens and parsley. Did I mention the parsley is looking so delicious, also because it’s cooled off?
And then there are the green tomatoes. I had some before I went to Chicago for a few days and today I got more. Some people think they ripen, and sometimes they get red, but if picked green, they often just taste like store tomatoes, so I decided to pickle some.
It’s a simple recipe and really doesn’t take long, so I worked it into the afternoon, sterilizing the jars and stuffing them,
giving them a 10 minute boil,
and finally lifting them out to cool.
For years, the idea of pickled green tomatoes seemed pretty disgusting to me, but one year in order to avoid wasting them, I made these, tried them, and became a convert. At some point, I’d like to figure out how to reduce the quantity on my grandmother’s mock mincemeat recipe, which calls for green tomatoes (a peck), some quantity of apples, and sugar, raisins and nuts in the pounds. It was delicious stuff, but since I don’t can in that quantity, it needs some calculation! Meanwhile I’ll keep watch on these, which have a chance to get bigger, if not completely mature.
Your pickled tomatoes look fantastic (considerably better than most people do when they’re pickled!)
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I look OK when I’mm pickled but possibly less good when I’m smashed.
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Nobody looks good smashed, Mary, so you’re doing well!
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I look gorgeous all the time!
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We’re sure you do, Bruce!
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LOL!
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And silent, to boot! That would be the main advantage!
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But there’s little noisier than a pickled tomato. ๐
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Ah the words are shape shifting!
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Pickled tomatoes don’t sound good to me at all, but since I love standard cucumber pickles maybe I would like them. For years I thought using olive oil in sweeter breads would be awful as well, but then I tried it and I’m definitely a convert!
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The pickled tomatoes are salty and sweet and vinegary, which is an amazing combo.
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It sounds very good. I just worry about the texture.
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Pretty much like a raw tomato. The green ones are pretty solid, so they don’t get mushy/slimy.
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So they might be okay . . .
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I know pickled vegetables are really good for you, but I really struggle with the flavor of anything pickeled. To be honest, I’ve not tried the tomatoes, and I’m now wondering if they would be different than dill pickles and saurkraut, which I struggle to get down.
Your pumpkin bread on the other hand looks quite amazing. Yum! It’s nice to see you still have life in the garden, Lisa.
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I can’t tell you if you’d like them. It sounds as though you don’t like the vinegar–probably can’t eat sea salt and vinegar chips? I can say they have a sweetness I did not expect (no sugar added).
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At this stage in my life, I admire anyone who pickles and cans. And that pumpkin bread looks pretty good too!
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The pumpkin bread I’ve sampled. The pickles will need at least ten days!
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It all looks good. I never had pickled green tomatoes, or any tomatoes but would try ๐
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Thanks, Sylvie. Sounds like you’d be a good dinner guest!
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It’s wonderful to see your garden still blooming and producing – it’s like a balm!
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I’ll enjoy it while it lasts!
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Your productivity is impressive! I’ve never had pickled tomatoes, I don’t think we have them in the UK.
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Hmmm. It’s a small, simple recipe if you have any leftover green tomatoes!
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You still have good produce coming through. The zinnias are impressive, as is the pickling. Well done, Lisa
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Thanks, Derrick!
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Oh what a post with nothing than goodness again. The bread is a work of art, and still flowers in your garden??? what a delight! I love green tomato preserves. ha, all good stuff! xo Johanna
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Thanks, Johanna! ๐
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I have a small pumpkin sitting on my countertop and it’s about time to do something with it. That pumpkin bread sure looks good….what are the chances of your sharing the recipe? I especially like the idea of whole wheat flour and olive oil.
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I’ll email this evening.
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What a wonderful post! so nice to meet you!
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Thank you! Looks like you’re a cook too. Thanks for coming by!
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I saw you mentioned on a friend’s page so I had to stop by! ๐
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Everything is dead and brown here so your post is a tonic! And of course that bread needs pumpkin seeds on top–YUM!
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I’ll have greens and parsley until it snows. And my lettuces are beginning to come up in the cold frame, so I have hopes for those!
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Pingback: 3 DAYS 3 QUOTES CHALLENGE โ DAY 3 | Vincent Wambua
Oh, Vincent, I simply can’t do these any more. I’ve been playing fast and loose with awards and challenges for quite some time and have decided to turn them down. But I thank you for thinking of my blog and wish you well in your blog and your endeavors. Thanks for coming by!
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I love the sound of your healthy pumpkin bread. Maybe if enough people ask, you will publish it? ๐
I like sweet pickled cauliflower and cucumbers but haven’t tried green tomatoes. Are yours pickled dill or sweet? My son (a cook/chef) has made fried green tomatoes with crushed croutons for coating for us. ๐ Your garden still has a lot going on. I posted recently two photos with bees, one a bumblebee. I like bees!
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The recipe was what I was meaning for the pumpkin bread. . . oops. I have made those pumpkin cream cheese rolls, you slice and serve~ looks like a pinwheel.
My Mom used to make a fruit cake that seemed like a buttery pound cake. She also made good mincemeat for the holidays.
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Oh, yum, pumpkin rolls! Good fruitcake is a treasure as well. Most the time people are just mortified by the idea, but when they have the real thing….
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The green tomatoes are surprisingly sweet, but pickled with dill seeds. I will have to check out your bees!!!! If you want the recipe for the pumpkin bread, send an email to jiminy3791[at] my packs.net and I’ll send to you!!!
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