Green Tomato Chutney

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Now playing: Earth, Wind & Fire - September
via FoxyTunes



I have a recipe from a Shropshire friend, Pam. It is a recipe handed down in her family in England. This recipe happily uses green tomatoes, any gardener can tell you that is a good thing!

1 rather large marrow (In the USA that means an over-grown zucchini, here I used 4 regular sized zucchini/courgettes. Peel remove pips and sprinkle with salt, drain on a paper towel overnight.

2 lbs. onion, diced

2 lbs. green tomatoes

2 lbs. cooking apples, peeled and diced (Granny Smith for USA, and maybe Bramley for UK.)

1 lrg. cauliflower, cooked til slightly soft.

1 lb. brown sugar

Enough malt vinegar to come up 2" in the pan.

Combine in heavy large pot and cook until soft about 1/2 hour.

Make a paste with:

3-4 tsp. turmeric

3-4 tsp. cornflower (cornstarch to my American friends)

Enough white vinegar to make the paste with the turmeric and cornflower.

Fold into pot and cook until thick, about 3 to 4 minutes. Process in canning jars as need. Refer to a canning manual for chutneys. You could also refrigerate. I got 8 pint jars yield out of the recipe.








A progression of my first 2011 pumpkin.




The "biggest so far" pumpkin for 2011 prize goes to:



Maybe a future pumpkin, if it does the business soon, it may make it before the first frost. The bees are laden with pollen and are in a dazed state, when I moved the vine and flower they didn't budge.



Another shot of the garden mascot. This one is from the other side of the spider. I love my spider!



Salad anyone?



Beer anyone?



Garden views:







The bloody squirrel has continued to be busy. Chosing the Black Krim variety. expensive taste, huh mate?



I did some research on holding squirrels at bay from tomatoes. I found that they; don't like coffee grounds, dogs (I knew this, but the silly things comes back when Misty the collie isn't outside), ammonia soaked rags, You have to put up with very persistent squirrels, squirrels don't really like tomatoes and just eat them when they are thirsty (could have fooled me). So, I put down coffee grounds, ammonia soaked rags in a bowl near the garden bed, sprinkled dog hair near too. I also started taking partially ripe Black Krims inside and put them in the window.



The squirrel's solution to vanishing Black Krims is to start on the Beefsteak tomatoes. So yes, I have resigned myself to sharing with the squirrel.

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“You can't be friends with a squirrel! A squirrel is just a rat with a cuter outfit.”
-Sarah Jessica Parker