Fast & Easy Garlic Dill Pickled Green Tomatoes – #TastyThursday

The last few #TastyThursday and #ScrumptiousSunday posts have been centered around unripened green tomatoes, and today I wanted to bring one last amazing recipe using what many people find useless.  How about some garlic dill pickled green tomatoes?   For some reason I find that some folks are intimidated by doing home pickling – when there’s really not much effort in it!   Home pickling is not only more tasty, but it’s incredibly cheap as well.  When it comes to picking anything – the only limits are the lack of imagination!

If you’re anything like me, your taste buds do backflips for pickled veggies!   The most tedious  aspect to any pickling process is waiting, but who says you have to wait?  This recipe (which you can use most anything other than green tomatoes) will give you ready to eat pickled green tomatoes in under an hour…or a few hours if you want them chilled.

• 12-18 green tomatoes (about 3 lbs)
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons pickling salt
• 4 heads fresh dill or 4 teaspoons dill seeds
• 4 small cloves garlic
• 4 pint size canning jars

Prepare canning jars.  Slice all the green tomatoes in half.  Combine vinegar, water, and salt in a pot and bring to a boil.

Place 1 head fresh dill or 1 tsp dill seeds and 1 clove garlic into each jar; pack in green tomatoes. Pour boiling vinegar mixture over green tomatoes to within 1/2 inch of rim (head space).  Process for 15 minutes.

Garlic may turn blue or green in the jar. Nothing to be alarmed about, it is only the effect of the acid on the natural pigments in the garlic.

That’s it!

Tip:  For more garlic flavor, add an extra clove!   For a little kick, add some chilli peppers.  We added jalapeño and banana peppers.

Live Well – Eat Well – Be Well

Fried Green Tomatoes – #ScrumptiousSunday

Add some homemade spicy-mayo and artificial bacon bits to your fried green tomatoes to kick it up a notch!

You say tomato, I say tomahto…we both say delicious!   This past #TastyThursday I mentioned our abundance of ripe and green tomatoes in our last harvest from the garden, and I said I would post some more delicious recipes using green tomatoes such as Green Tomato Bread recipe.  Today I give you Fried Green Tomatoes!

There’s a debate about where fried green tomatoes actually originated from.   Some say the South and others say the Midwest.  When my German/Russian family immigrated to the United States, the majority of them settled in the Midwestern states…Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois.  I grew up on many delicious dishes such as Fried Green Tomatoes, each recipe carrying with it a long story of where/who it originated from.  Being that most American hadn’t even heard of the idea of battering such un-ripened fruit and frying it in a well seasoned cast iron skillet until the 1991 classic film, Fried Green Tomatoes, the Midwest theory really pans out.  I also did some in-depth online reading, and I hate to burst the bubble of some, but Fried Green Tomatoes are by no means a Southern dish…the accurate debate is whether they’re originally Midwestern or Northeastern!   But enough of about where they came from as we can all agree that they should be enjoyed by everyone!

For the Fried Green Tomatoes

• 6 – 8 firm green tomatoes
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups of seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 cups of almond or soy milk
• 2 Tablespoons cayenne pepper
• 1 Tablespoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup canola oil

Slice green tomatoes to medium thickness and sprinkle lightly with salt, let stand for 5 minutes.

Prepare your dredging bowls:  In the first bowl, add almond or soy milk.  In a second bowl combine and mix all-purpose flour, cayenne pepper, sea salt, and black pepper.   In a third bowl, add bread crumbs.

Dredging Method

1. Dip each green tomato slice in the almond or soy milk.
2. Coat it in all-purpose flour mixture.
3. Dip once again in the almond or soy milk.
4. Coat in seasoned bread crumbs.
5. Gently stack on a plate and set aside.

Heat oil in skillet on medium-high.  To test, drop a tiny piece of bread crumb in oil.  It should immediately crackle when ready.

With tongs gently place each dredged green tomato slice in hot oil.  Be sure not overcrowd.  Fry 3-5 minutes on each side or until golden and crispy.   When done, remove green tomatoes and gently place on a paper towel lined plate.  Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.

Spicy-Mayo Sauce

• 3/4 cup Vegenaise®
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder

Whisk all ingredients together with a fork in a small bowl.  Drizzle over fried green tomatoes.  For some added flare, sprinkle with artificial bacon bits!

Live Well – Eat Well – Be Well