Take advantage of the fall harvest and enjoy these tasty recipes with local vegetables (your own, or those from the farmers' markets at Kingsway United Church or Parkdale).
Green Tomato Chowder
3 cup mixed pickling spice- wrapped in cheesecloth
1 clove garlic - chopped
6 cups chopped green tomatoes
1 red pepper - chopped
3 cups chopped onion
3 cups chopped celery
2/3 cups brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups cider vinegar
Cook on simmer till vegetables are soft. Seal in hot, sterile jars.
– Jacqueline Mayer
To Sterilize Jars
Put open jars on a baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes in a 250 degree oven. Or put open jars in a pressure cooker with 1 cup of water in the bottom of the pressure cooker. Steam at full pressure for 10 minutes.
To sterilize lids, cover both pieces in water and bring to a boil. Boil for five minutes. You should also sterilize any spoons, ladles or funnels you plan to use.
Fruit Ketchup
10 ripe tomatoes3 apples
3 peaches
3 pears
2 bunch celery (about 5 stalks)
1 red pepper
2 green peppers
3 medium onions
2 cups white sugar
1 tsp salt
2 cups vinegar
3 cup pickling spice in cheesecloth bag
Chop all the fruit and vegetables fairly fine and mix in a large pot. Dissolve the sugar and salt in the vinegar and add to mixture. Add pickling spice. Simmer for about 2 hours, stirring from time to time. Take out the spice bag. Seal in sterilized jars.
– Cécile Hotte
Pickled Beets
1 Tbsp cloves1 Tbsp turmeric
1 Tbsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups water
2 cups vinegar
1 tsp coarse pickling salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
Simmer all this for 10 minutes. Do not boil!
Cook 3 lbs of beets until tender to a fork. Peel, cut up and put into sterilized hot jars. Fill with syrup and seal.
– Jacqueline Mayer
Beans and almonds
Green beansSlivered almonds
Onion
Butter
Slice the beans as you like them. Chop the onion. Fry together in butter, adding almonds when nearly done.
– Iris Haughton
Oriental Cabbage Salad
Makes 16 servings
1 small cabbage, shredded8 green onions, chopped fine
8 tbsps almonds, toasted
8 tbsps sesame seeds, toasted
DRESSING
4 tbsps sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup rice vinegar (or you can use cider vinegar or white vinegar)
1 tsp sesame oil
Mix together cabbage, onions, almonds and sesame seeds. Heat dressing ingredients in saucepan on stove, stirring until sugar is absorbed. Let cool and pour over salad, then toss. Keeps well refrigerated until the next day.
– Karen Wiss
Katie's All Purpose Tomato Sauce
1 or 2 onionshead of garlic (or to your taste)
celery (2 stalks or to your taste)
5 carrots
big handful fresh basil, chopped
about 20 tomatoes
small can (5 oz) tomato paste
Fry finely chopped onions, garlic, celery, carrots in butter or oil until soft. Add basil. Stir for 2 minutes. Blanch the tomatoes (place in boiling water for 1 minute). Remove outer skin. Chop. Add to the onion-garlic mixture. Cook for about 30 minutes. Add tomato paste. Cook for about another 30 minutes.
You can freeze this sauce. It goes well on spaghetti or in lasagna. Very nice on pasta or a baked potato with melted cheese.
– Katie Mailly
Mr. Miller's Cabbage Casserole
1 medium head cabbage - shredded, not too fineGood size onion, cut up fine
1 to 3 fresh tomatoes, cut up fine
Spices as you like it - maybe 1 tsp salt, fresh pepper, chili powder, thyme
Can of corned beef.
Sauté the cabbage alone until it changes colour. Strain off the extra liquid. Sauté the onions and tomatoes with the spices until the onion is soft and some of the tomato liquid has boiled off. Open the corned beef, break it up and mix in with the onions and tomatoes. Mix all together with the cabbage and cook a little longer. Be careful not to have too much liquid.
– Jarius Miller