Green Tomato Relish

Middle Tennessee has been extremely hot lately.  On top of the heat, we have had no rain.  If you combine high heat and no rain you get a tomato crop that is going south quick!   I watered my plants but continued to get lack-luster results.  The vines were beginning to die so the inevitable happened on Saturday....I pulled the green tomatoes from the vine....about two gallons of tomatoes and everything else was tidied up and readied for fall plantings.  However, what was I going to do with two gallons of green tomatoes? 

I remembered a recipe that Momma had tucked in the green box.  She called the recipe "Green Tomato Relish."  I think the recipe was similar to one she had tried at a local restaurant.  This was not an old recipe, but one that she had copied down in the last few years.  I am pretty sure that she never had the opportunity to make this relish.  She would have liked it.

So here is the recipe....when you decide to cook beans and greens this winter...you will want this!

Green Tomato Pickle Relish

1 gallon green tomatoes

6 onions ( I used Vidalia Onions)

3 green peppers ( I used red pepper and the color difference is great)

Chop the tomatoes, onions and peppers in chunks.  Place ingredients in a large plastic bowl and pour 1/2 cup of salt over vegetables.  Mix well, cover and let set overnight.

The next morning, rinse the salt off (1 time only) and set aside.

In a large dutch oven ( I think 8 quart) mix the following:

3 cups vinegar

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon of celery seed

1 tablespoon of mustard seed

2 tablespoons of pickling spice (tie in cheese cloth and drop in liquid)

Bring ingredients to boil and add the tomatoe mixutre.  Cook until crisp tender.  I was able to get 8 pints of relish.

The other gallon of green tomatoes are being readied for a Green Tomatoe Cake with Brown Butter Icing.   Looks like a great cake to take to the mountains this weekend. 

Barbecue Fried Chicken....The REAL Way!!!

It has been a few years since I have taken the time to cut up an entire chicken and fry it.   We do not eat traditional pan -  fried chicken.  With the busy schedules around here, we buy pre-battered frozen chicken breast (probably chicken parts)  and pop them in the oven.   It has not been customary to fry a whole chicken at our house.  Many of you remember that chicken did not come in nicely packaged containers with two split breast.  Chicken came one way....WHOLE!   Since it has been offered in the grocery store already butchered, we have purchased chicken pre-cut!  My children do not know how to cut up a whole chicken (I think it is time for a cooking lesson)!

As a child, fried chicken was a staple in our diet (the whole kind...including the gizzards and livers).  Momma fried chicken at least once a week.  When we got older, she started buying Banquet Fried Chicken and baked it in the oven.  Every now and then we would get the "Pièce de résistance" .....her Barbecued Fried Chicken.  It was a sweet and tangy sauce that was poured over the chicken and simmered for an hour.  It was a recipe that Momma carried to family get "togethers", dinner on the ground at Rowesville church and other special events.  I still remember the flavors today.  It is funny how you can remember certain foods from your childhood.  I certainly remember this dish.

I learned how to cut up a whole chicken by watching Julia Child.  I watched Julia's cooking program on Saturday mornings on public television.  I didn't watch it all of the time, but was able to catch enough shows along the way to learn how to cut up a chicken....thank you Julia.

As I opened up the Green Box (my Mommas recipe box), the first recipe I found was the Barbecue Chicken.  I knew I had to give it a try.  Although, I will state up front.....this is NOT a Weight Watcher recipe!  The wonderful flavor and aroma of fried chicken and barbecue filled the house today.  Enjoy!

Homemade Barbecue Chicken

One 4 pound fryer cut into pieces

Place chicken in a shallow dish and cover with buttermilk and let set overnight

Next day

Fried Chicken Batter

Batter 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Chicken Dip

2 eggs

1 cup milk

Dip chicken in egg and then dredge in flour.  For extra crispy chicken...dip and dredge twice.

Frying the Chicken

I fry my chicken in a large black cast iron skillet.  I filled the skillet 1/3 full of vegetable oil.  Heat oil and and place battered chicken in skillet.  Do not overcrowd.  Let pieces cook 10 - 15 minutes on each side (depending on size).  Wings and drumsticks (10 min)  breast and thighs (15 min).  Drain on paper towel.

Barbecue Sauce

1 cup chopped green pepper
3/4 cup chopped green onion

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 cup of tomato ketchup

1 1/2 cup of water

2  tablespoons  Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Place fried chicken in a dutch oven.  Pour sauce over chicken and let simmer for one hour.

The Green Box

Some of my first memories in the kitchen were the recipes pulled from "the green box."  This box held a treasure trove of Momma's tried and true recipes.  Momma would clip,  cut and stuff every little recipe that she wanted to try into that little box.  She had index cards in the box with recipes written on them.  Each card had a letter on the tab written in black bold print.  I never had the opportunity to ask her why the recipes were written in such a random order and didn't correspond with the correct letter.  It didn't really matter, Momma new exactly where every special recipe was located. 

I was the lucky one to receive "the green box" and many of my Momma's recipes.   Sometimes I just open the box to see her handwriting.  I get such a sense of peace flipping through and looking at her handwriting.  Each recipe seems to say "Chris...remember when I made this?"  It took several times of opening the box before I stopped shedding a little tear each time I opened it.  Tucked far back in the box was her Jam Cake.  This cake was the centerpiece on the Christmas table (along with her fresh Coconut Cake) every year at our house.  Sandra made the recipe last year for our family get-together and flooded our home with the sweet smells of childhood.  It was a three layer dense cake with caramel icing...which I might add...turned out perfect every time.  She scoffed at humidity and was never a timid baker.

Today I found her recipe for Black Eye Pea Dip.  It was one of those recipes that she quickly wrote down on one of her writing pads.  Often she would be listening to "Talk of the Town," a local talk show on WTVF in Nashville, chatting with a friend on the phone or copying from the newspaper.  I knew that I had become a pretty good cook when Momma started asking for my recipes.  I found several of those recipes in "the green box."  When I saw them I smiled and tucked them back in with the other countless recipes.  Thank you Momma for keeping that box.....

Black Eye (Eyed) Pea Dip (enough for Coxey's Army)

4 cans of black eye peas with juice

2 cups of chopped green pepper

1/2 cup of chopped onions (Vidalia works great)

1 cup of chopped green onion

1/2 cup of chopped green chilies

8 oz of pimento

1/2 to 1 full cup of Italian dressing (I use fat free Zesty Italian)

1 tablespoon of garlic salt

I added 2 tablespoons of sugar (never hurts)

Juice of 1 lemon (the brightness really brings out the flavor)

Mix together and let sit overnight.