Pickled pear tomatoes: Little Darlings

My parents have always subscribed to the cocktail as part of a civilized existence.  It was a pre-dinner ritual at our house that included a Manhattan for my Lovely Mother, and a Martini for Papa Ron.   The Lord of the Manor is also a Martini man, so despite the fact that they have always been a little, ah, medicinal for me I know from gin!

Frickin' Oreo martini?

Nowadays, a martini has come to mean anything liquor served up in a stemmed cocktail glass including abominations like the birthday cake martini, the bacon martini, and the no-joke-it-really-exists deep fried Oreo martini.

Oh.
My.
God.

A Martini is made with gin and vermouth and garnished with a twist or an olive.  That's it.  A vodka martini is always referred to as a vodka martini--but at least it is still the bracing palate cleansing, appetite piquing, relaxing drink as sure as god made juniper berries and herbs.

So, bearing that in mind, according to Papa Ron, it is acceptable to substitute any small savory pickled vegetables without losing the spirit of the drink (get it?  spirit?  drink?  anyone?)

Last year I found myself with an abundance of green tomatoes from my garden.  While the larger varieties work well in chow chow and fried, the little midgets were a puzzle.  But I hate to throw food away, so I looked for a way to pickle them (when in doubt, add vinegar and spices, amirite?)  The results were not only the cutest little jars you've ever seen, according to The Lord of the Manor they are just aces for Martinis.  Papa Ron seems to agree.  I have added them to my Bloody Mary's (breakfast in a glass!) to good effect as well.

Yes, Virginia, there are ripe tomatoes here too.  Separate them!

To make the little darlings you will need:

~4 C green pear or grape tomatoes without stems and well washed
1/2 C white vinegar
1 qt water
1/3 C kosher or canning salt
1 t celery seed
1 t mustard seed
1 t peppercorns
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Hot chilis (fresh or dried) to taste
2 pint jars, lids and rings

In a large nonreactive pot, add vinegar, water and salt and bring to a boil stirring to make sure all the salt is dissolved.

Spice it up!

Sterilize the jars and fill with hot water while the pickling solution cooks.

Pour out the hot water and divide the spices equally between the jars.  Fill the jars with the tomatoes, shaking down to pack relatively tightly.

Pour in the hot pickling solution leaving ~1/4 inch (2mm) headspace.  Wipe off jar rims and place sterilized lids and rings.  Tighten gently and leave to cool.

Hi, I'm adorable.  And delicious.

Once cooled, place the jars in the refrigerator where they will keep for at least 4 months.

The classic Papa Ron martini:

2 parts gin
1 part dry vermouth
serve over ice cubes in a double rocks glass
Garnish with multiple olives, gerhkins, cocktail onions (yes this is a Gibson), or baby pickled tomatoes.

The author and Papa Ron ca.1994.  Martinis in the background.

Sunshine in wintertime

Canning tomatoes

Tomatoes are a good mid level canning project--post jam/relish and pre canned tuna.  Tomatoes are very acidic so you can preserve them without using a pressure canner and they are just so darn useful!  At our house we use canned tomatoes at least twice a week.  In winter our usage ramps up, because of the use in stews and chili.

Canned tomatoes are also very forgiving.  You can mush 'em and mash 'em and no one cares. 

You can also pre-process them into salsas (as we've already seen), sauces and pastes.  With all of those changes, however, you may need to change your canning technique.  Particularly with a marinara sauce there can be a loss of acidity than will doom the canning to failure.

Certain tomato varieties are more acidic than others.  If you have any questions about the acidity of your tomatoes add lemon juice, 1 t per pint. 

To can tomatoes, you will need:

Tomatoes

Not the prettiest, a mixed bag of end of season fruit.

(and sterilized jars, rings, lids, a non reactive pot and a canning pot...)


Wash and pick over the tomatoes, discarding any mushy or cracked fruit.  Peel the tomatoes, core and quarter them. 

To peel tomatoes you will need a pot of boiling water, and a bowl of ice water (the ice water will need to be changed/replenished several time during a session). 

Ow!  This is hot!

Dammit!  I told you this was hot!  Now I'm cracked!

...And now this crazy lady has skinned me!  And so easily too!

Dropped washed tomatoes into boiling water and cook ~45sec or until the skin cracks.  Remove and immediately place in ice water bath.  Core the tomato and the skin will "slip" off. 







This works by cooking the tomato immediately under the skin and therefore breaking the seal between the skin and the meat.  The ice bath prevents the tomato from cooking further and preventing loss of flavor.





Heat the prepared fruit in non reactive pot until boiling.  Ladle tomatoes and juice into jars (I use pints).  Add 1 t lemon juice per pint if necessary (I'm a coward, I use it every time).  You can also add  1/2 t kosher salt per pint.  Wipe rims and place lids and rings and tighten gently.

Process 10 minutes (15 for me) in a boiling water bath.

Now you have a glorious reminder of summer when the weather goes south.

Delicious!

Forgive me...

I apologize for my absence.  August exploded and I've just begun piecing it back together.  Thing 1, my daughter, just started kindergarten (yea her!) and myself, the master of the house and Thing 2 have all had the creeping crud.  After 3 weeks I can't hear my lungs when I breathe at night.  This is a good thing. **
Basta!  Enough!  How about some canning?

Pick your own!

Today Thing 2 and I went to Gilcrease orchard, our local pick your own farm.  This place is amazing!  We got 20# of apples (Granny smith this year), 10# of pears, 10# of pickling cucumbers, 5# of ripe tomatoes, 1 gallon (and one pint for the Thing) fresh pressed apple cider, 3# of zucchini, and one giant zucchini suitable for self defense.  This haul cost all of $50 and is much fresher and tastier than the junk produce at the grocery store.  And we supported a local business (eat local!)

Well, what am I going to do with all this goodness?  The cucumbers are going to be made into pickles--some more of the garlic dills, but also some processed pickles that can be stored in the pantry.
The tomatoes will be turned into salsa (with a little help from my own garden) and I plan on a couple quarts of processed tomatoes to give us a little sunshine this winter.

The pears and apples will be made into butters and some applesauce.  The apple butter is my pride and joy; an old, old, oooold family recipe.  My first canning project was apple butter and I have made it every year for the past 20 or so.  So please wait patiently, I promise at least a half dozen new posts in the near future.

Farm life was hard...until it was soft.

**Thankfully we were not ill in any way that would have been helped by this ancient recipe found in Leta's collection to treat "running off of the bowels" [diarrhea].