Allow me take you back to some 65 years to a recipe dated in my mother’s hand written book as 1951. That was a memorable year for me as I had waited patiently for years to reach 18, so I could join the Air Force without my parent’s consent.
Over the years I had six brothers in the military, so I completed the cycle.
The biggest thing I missed was my father’s large garden (that he fed half the neighborhood with). And Mom’s cooking.
Mom could take just about any fresh vegetable from Dad’s garden and make a tasty meal with it. It is surprising what Mom could do with a tomato, as you will see in the following recipes.
Green Tomato Chutney
Ingredients:
3 pounds of tomatoes
2 Tbsp salt
3 pound white onions
1½ tsp ground ginger
¾ pound white sugar
1 oz pickling spice
6 oz dates
1¼ pt vinegar
½ tsp cayenne
Method:
Cut tomatoes in half, peel and slice onions. Put both in large dish. Sprinkle with salt and leave overnight.
Drain the liquid. Put all in pan with pickling spice in muslin bag. Stir until sugar has melted. Simmer until tomatoes and onions are tender and the mixture is thick. Stir often and well.
Scalloped Corn and Tomatoes
Ingredients:
2 pt. or 2-14 oz. cans tomatoes, chopped and well drained
one 15 oz can of whole kernel corn, drained
2 eggs, slightly beaten
¼ cup white flour
2 tsp sugar
½ tsp pepper
1 medium white onion, chopped fine
½ tsp garlic powder
½ cup butter
4 cups soft bread crumbs
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
one 14 oz can of creamed corn
Method:
Stir together the tomatoes, corn, eggs, flour, sugar and pepper in a 2 quart casserole dish.
In a small saucepan, cook onions and garlic powder in butter until tender but not brown. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle on top of corn mixture. Bake, uncovered at 350ºF for one hour or until brown and set. This should give you 12 servings.
Stuffed Tomatoes
Cut the tops of six tomatoes. Take out the flesh and seeds and stuff the shells with the following:
One onion chopped fine, and fried light brown.
One half cup bread crumbs, and one half teaspoon of chopped parsley and the flesh of the tomatoes.
Fill the shell with the mixture, put the tops on and bake at 4000ºF 10 to 20 minutes.
Minced and seasoned meat may be used for stuffing the tomatoes.
Green Tomato Pickles
Ingredients:
10 pounds sliced onions
10 pounds green sliced tomatoes
½ cup salt
2 quarts of white vinegar
5 red peppers, sliced thin
⅓ cup pickling sauce
3 pounds white sugar
Method:
Sprinkle onions and tomatoes with salt. Allow to stand overnight.
Drain. Add remaining ingredients and boil 1½ to 2 hours. Add salt to taste. Bottle.
Baked Tomatoes
Fill a good sized baking dish with large tomatoes cut in halves, rounded side down. Sprinkle each liberally with chopped parsley, pepper and salt to taste. Place ½ tsp butter on each half. Bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes. A ½ teaspoon of sugar may be added to each half tomato.
