Early Snow

It's still only October, but there's a good three inches of snow on the ground and it's still falling thick and fast outside my window. In anticipation of the storm and the cold weather that has accompanied it, earlier this week we finally brought in all the last cold sensitive items from the garden - tomatoes (ripe, half ripe, and green), sweet peppers, and hot peppers. We still have broccoli, leeks, fennel, carrots, radishes, and lots of greens out there that like the cold and will probably be just fine.

Green peppers (both hot and sweet) will continue to ripen if brought indoors and kept somewhere cool and dark. Some people like to bring in the whole plant and hang it upside down, but I've also had good luck just keeping a big pile of peppers in a paper bag in my chilly pantry. Tomatoes will also ripen indoors, though the quality will never be as good as summer tomatoes (even the ones that ripen on the vine late in the season suffer in flavor from the cold nights).

I roasted the ripe tomatoes and put them in the freezer. The half ripe ones are sitting in a bowl to ripen over the next week or so. The green ones (about 10 lbs) I think I'm going to use for Green Tomato and Apple Chutney, which I will can (but first I need to get some more canning jars).

Green peppers can be frozen just like ripe ones (halve, seed, freeze freezer bags), but I'm hoping some more of mine will ripen up before they shrivel. The hot peppers I decided to try pickling this year, something I have not done before. Now I have 9 half-pint jars of lovely red, green, and purple pickled hot peppers. Pickling mellows their heat and intensifies their flavor, making their great for pizza, salsa, Mexican eggs, nachos, etc.

Grilled Marsala Vegetables

Another seasoning option for mixed grilled vegetables. Use whatever combination you like, depending on what's available: mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini or summer squash, peppers, onions, etc. I like to include onions in nearly any combination because they're so good.

I made this with onions, the first eggplant from my garden, and shiitake mushrooms from the farmers market.

6 cups mixed seasonal veggies, in chunks
2 Tbsp marsala
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients in a bowl to coat. Let sit 10-15 minutes (more if you like).

Grill in a grill basket over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and nicely browned/blackened in places, about 20-30 minutes (note that smaller chunks cook faster and bigger ones take longer).

Serves 3-4.

My Standard Chili

I thought I had posted this recipe at some point, but I can't find it so I guess I hadn't! I make this pretty often; it's an easy recipe and always seems to find a welcome reception. It also freezes well. This is excellent with cornbread.

Olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tsp ground cumin, or to taste
1 tsp chili powder, or to taste
2 bell peppers, diced (red, green, or one of each; frozen is fine)
2-3 chili peppers, seeded and minced (optional; frozen is fine)
1 cup corn kernels (frozen is fine)
3 cups cooked black beans or kidney beans (drained and rinsed if canned)
3 cups chopped or ground tomatoes with their liquid (canned or frozen is fine)
1 lb ground beef (thawed)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (optional; frozen cubes are fine)

Heat a little olive oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot. Add the onion and garlic and saute 2-3 minutes. Add the cumin and chili powder and mix well, then add the peppers, chili peppers (if using), corn, beans, and tomatoes with their liquid. Add a little extra water if needed. Mix well, then cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Extra simmering time is fine.

While the vegetables simmer, cook the beef in a separate pan. When it is cooked through, drain off the fat and add the beef to the vegetables. Simmer another few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Adjust other seasonings as needed. Stir in the cilantro if using.

Serves 4-6.

Roasted Green Tomato Salsa

Since I had a lot of tomatoes, and I just can't leave well enough alone, here's another salsa recipe for green tomatoes.

7 lbs green (unripe) tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped
1/2 lb green chili peppers and/or green sweet peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
Salt to taste
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the tomatoes, peppers, onions, and garlic in roasting pans (I needed two) and sprinkle generously with salt. Roast for about 30 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Puree the vegetables and any liquid they have given off, then pour it all into a large pot. Add the vinegar, lime juice, and sugar and mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

Refrigerate, freeze, or can.

To can, use pint jars and process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Yield: about 6 pints.

Green Tomato Salsa

As I had hoped, this worked out pretty well. The result is much like salsa verde more traditionally made with tomatillos: a green, fairly thin, smooth salsa with a nice sour edge to it.

7-8 lbs green (unripe) tomatoes
1/2 lb green chili peppers and sweet green peppers (ratio up to you)
2 large onions
1 cup lime juice
1/4 cup sugar, or to taste
1/2 tsp ground cumin, or to taste
Salt to taste

Coarsely chop the tomatoes, seed and chop the peppers, and chop the onions. Put it all in a large pot with a splash of water, and cook until nice and soft, 15-20 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.

Puree the vegetables, then stir in the lime juice, sugar, cumin, and salt. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Refrigerate, freeze, or can.

To can, use pint jars and process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Yield: about 6 pints.

Pizza with Corn, Green Pepper, and Bacon

I am down to my last few packages of frozen corn from last summer. Every time I use some, I am blown away by the sweetness and flavor. It's in a completely different league from the frozen corn you buy at the store. Here I combined it with some frozen green peppers from last year's garden and a little Bostrom Farm bacon. Use a tomato sauce that is fairly plain, if you can, with flavorings that don't scream Italian too loudly. Alternatively, try a light coating of salsa instead. In summer, you could make this with chopped fresh tomatoes in place of sauce.

1 14-inch pizza crust
olive oil
1/2 cup tomato sauce
3/4 cup corn kernels (frozen is fine)
1/2 cup diced green pepper (frozen is fine)
3-4 slices cooked bacon, chopped
2-3 oz. mozzarella, shredded or cubed

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Lightly paint the pizza crust with olive oil.

Spread the sauce over the crust, then top with corn, pepper, and bacon. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake for about 18 minutes, until crust is golden and cheese begins to brown.

Serves 3-4.