Saturday, October 1, 2016

Chow Chow Day

I really have to thank Linda at Stitch Lines for her gift of green tomatoes.    The other day she had posted on her blog about her bumper crop of tomatoes.   I wasn't long volunteering to go over to get the rest of the tomatoes.   I showed up early the next morning and Linda and I picked two big shopping bags full and cleaned out her tomato patch..  
Chopped and ready to simmer.
With pretty scraps of fabric I made teabag style
pouches for the pickling spice.  

I haven't made chow chow in a long time, but a quick request to my sister-in-law Shirley, got me her mother's recipe.  It's a family favorite.   The recipe is just precious.    It said, " chop tomatoes and onions until the big blue pot is half full".     The next thing was to add vinegar until you see the vinegar when you tip the pot!  

Well, we got the recipe all figured out and my hubby and I hand chopped the 11 pounds of tomatoes last evening.  We had fun talking about the old days and recipes and all the stuff his mother used to cook.    The recipe said to put a couple of handfuls of salt to the chopped tomatoes, then put a plate on top and let sit over night.  This morning, it was very easy to drain, rinse, then simmer for a couple of hours, then bottle.   The chow chow is made. The house smells delightful.  We tested the chow with some crackers this afternoon.   It's delicious.  

 And I have a nice bottle set aside to deliver to Linda.  She will be able to enjoy it at her Thanksgiving table.  I know she's got lots of company coming.
 
Next Week, when the rest of the tomatoes ripen, I'll be making a small batch of salsa.   Can't wait..   Many thanks Linda!!


2 comments:

Linda H said...

You're so welcome Gail. Glad you could put them to good use so they didn't go to waste. I'll look forward to my bottle of chow!

Lee said...

My mother always made mustard and green chow chow (why do we say "chow" twice, she asked?) and the aroma was always intense but so yummy. Green was my favourite, too. Memories! I bet if I looked up the recipe in her box, it would read very similar to the one you used - fill to half way up the blue pot. So useful to her, but a bit of a challenge for the next generation to figure out. Nice share.