Monday, October 15, 2007

Vampire proof your garden

Elizabeth sent in this comment/question on my BBQ Green Tomato Chutney entry :
Hey, neighbor- Just found you looking for green tomato chutney (I can't face that old file folder of paper recipes!)- yours sounds great. I have a question, though- I have a mess (a gallon?) of small green tomatoes, from bigger-than-cherry-but-not-quite-plum-tomatoes. Can you give me an approximate weight/volume of tomatoes in the recipe? I'm not all about measurements but I'm having a hard time visualizing full-size tomatoes out of this pile I have. Thanks, from Seattle.
My recipe called for 3-4 medium sized tomatoes and that is about 1 1/2 lbs or 750grams. Chutney is one of those of things that are evolved as it's made. You toss the ingredients in and then take a little taste. Toss in a bit more of this, a touch more of that until it suits your palate. I do make big batches of chutney for canning but I often will make small batches for just one or two meals. It makes for a fresher and brighter tasting chutney.

If you still have green tomatoes leftover, you can ripen them indoors. I've just brought all of my tomato plants into my dining room to let them ripen. You can simply take vines/branches and hang them for vine ripened tomatoes . Or you can take the tomato off the vine and put them in a cardboard box in a single layer and cover them with some newspaper and let them ripen somewhere cool.

I hope that helps!
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I hope everyone is enjoying a yummy 100 mile diet fall season. I've been delighting in this season's buffet. We've been swooning a sea of fall and winter delights!
For garlic lovers, it's garlic planting season again. I've planted garlic in a wide range of soil conditions and they don't seem to need much work after the initial planting making them a great garden item for beginner green thumbs. It will keep vampires out of your garden though it won't do anything to keep them from showing up at your front door and begging for junk food at the end of this month.
If some gaunt, serpent tongued Qing dynasty official comes hopping down them street, hold your breath, it's a Jiang Shi. Blame it on the monobrowed taoist priest and his bumbling assistants for this ghoulish happening. Fortunately, if you just block the threshold of your doorway, the undead qi sucking beggar can't get inside your house. This is why doorways in traditional chinese houses have ankle busting 6 inch high thresholds.

Anyways, here's a great tutorial for garlic planting from Boundary Garlic Farm.
I got my garlic from Ken at Gabriola Gourmet Garlic Farm at a local farmer's market. If you haven't had a chance to get your garlic yet or are looking for more locally grown goodies, you're in luck!
The 2007 Farmer's Showcase is this coming Saturday (Oct. 20) from 10am to 4pm at the Mid-Island Co-Op on Bowen Road. There will be a wide range of farm products and vendors. I'll also be manning a table and doing my 100 mile diet song n' dance. Foodlink Nanaimo is also hosting a networking forum “Supporting Local Agriculture” on Friday, October 19th at 6:30 pm at Christ Community Church. For those in the Mid-Island region interested in finding ways to support and sustain a viable local agriculture, this is the place to be!

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