I’ve been growing some veggies in raised beds in our backyard. As with most gardens, there have been hits and misses.
Among the misses, thus far, have been the tomatoes. Thanks to the elaborate bamboo (quasi-native to my backyard, unfortunately) support structure, the plants are taller than me. Yet, I’m still waiting for my first red tomato.
Well…I’m not holding my breath for one since my wife discovered that our yard is home to a squirrel with a taste for tomatoes. I keep finding half-eaten tomatoes around and that’s the worst part–he’s so wasteful with them!
While I’m looking into netting and ripening them off the vine, I have plenty of green tomatoes waiting for a purpose. So I decided to make some fried green tomaters. As you can see, they worked out pretty well.
I battered them with egg, milk and breading. To get the breadcrumbs, not something I use much or keep around, I blendered some old heels of a sourdough loaf. It worked quite well. The tomatoes fried up nicely and were pretty tasty. Of course, they were about one tenth as good as a ripe, homegrown tomato. Alas…
At the end of all the dipping, I had plenty of leftover egg. I mixed the remains of the beaten egg, milk and seasoned breadcrumbs and fried it up into a sort of griddle cake. I didn’t get a picture of it because it disappeared so quickly.Next time I make eggs, I might just add some bread crumbs, salt and herbs and be totally satisfied. Then again, a little red tomato wouldn’t hurt.
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12 responses to “When Life Gives You Green Tomatoes…”
There are lots of things you can do with green tomatoes. I pick them before the first frost and make green tomato marmalade or green tomato ketchup. My MIL swears by green tomato chutney.
Fried green tomatoes are a classic, though.
Jon,
I think that most of the savvy gardeners out there have found that it’s better to work with, rather than against the encroaching animals. In this case, squirrels are just looking for a meal, and would go for other stuff that’s more accessible, like peanuts. Like so many people these days, they’d most likely prefer the easy salts, to the long climb to the green tomatoes. The netting probably couldn’t hurt, though.
Peace and Love,
Dan
In my garden, it’s the rabbits that somehow find their way through the fence…they love the swiss chard and sunflowers. Now that the babies are larger, they don’t seem to fit through as easily.
Speaking of green tomatoes,..at the end of the season when the plants are still full of green fruits but frost is imminent, our CSA picks them all for distribution. Members can make relish and jam, freeze them whole or halved or wrap them in newspaper and keep them in a cool, dry place where they will keep well for a few weeks.
Speaking of bread crumbs – I recently learned that fresh breadcrumbs have a higher moisture content than the commercial variety so it can make a difference in baking recipes. Sometimes I toast fresh breadcrumbs with some herbs and salt & pepper to use for breading eggplant or zucchini -very tasty. Fresh breadcrumbs make turkey meatloaf more moist.
Couple things:
– When I used to garden, I’d put little strips of foil on the plants to keep birds from eating my fruits. I don’t know if it’s equally a deterrent for squirrels, but might be worth a shot.
– I knew this woman who grew up on a farm, and she said they used to make mock apple pie w/ green tomatoes. Apparently, if you just slice the tomatoes thinly and then spice and bake as though they were apples, the pie tastes the same. I never did try it, but perhaps you will have enough for a pie.
” … mixed the remains of the beaten egg, milk and seasoned bread’ … ” and other stuff baked is called “strata”, I think.
Thanks for the advice, y’all. Very helpful stuff. I might sprinkle foil-wrapped peanuts on the ground…
If I make a mock apple pie with green tomatoes, you can be sure I’ll post about it. Intrigued…
As for strata–that’s one of those dishes I’ve heard about and know I’ll like, even though I have (until now) no idea what it is.
Hack back the tomatoes pretty ruthlessly. The plant is spending its energy growing green stuff instead of ripening your tomatoes. I would say cut anything that doesn’t have flowers on it and see how it does.
You are growing Indeterminate tomatoes. Simply means they will continue to grow until they die of something, usually frost. Yields are higher then Determinate tomatoes which reach full size and then stop – Roma tomatoes are determinate.
Debineezer is correct, all suckers – non flower producing branches – should be removed, so the plant concentrates on ripening fruit.
For the mock apple pie – be sure to skin the tomatoes first and if juicy, squeeze out some of the juice.
Green tomato chutney, if seasoned more sweet than hot, makes a good substitute for mincemeat. I added some chopped walnuts and some more raisins and the family never knew!
Strata is typically bread slices or cubes layered in a casserole with slices or shredded cheese with a milk/egg mixture poured over top. It then is allowed to sit refrigerated overnight so the bread soaks up the liquid and baked in the oven. Frequently called a Breakfast Casserole it is often served at B&B’s for its ease in morning prep. I’ve made it with chunks of ham, crumbled bacon, diced sausage, etc. Most older cookbooks, and Breakfast/brunch cookbooks have recipes – of course, Googling will get you a bunch too.
One of our favorites: Green Tomater Pie.
I have a great recipe for green tomato mincemeat, thats where my greenies go at the end of the season. I can it, and it tastes just like the stuff that you buy in a jar at the store. YUM.
I make green tomato chutney too. Google a recipe and add the spices that appeal to you. Delicious and keeps forever.
Jonathan:
I had this problem last year. I kept finding half eaten tomatoes on the ground outside my raised beds. The good news…many of the tomato seeds dropped by the chipmunks last year became new tomato plants. I had at least 15 tomato plants show up unexpectedly. And I live in northern New Jersey where our winters are cold. You may not get many ripe tomatoes this year, but look for “free” tomato plants next spring.