While our tomatoes sun themselves on our kitchen windowsill I am scratching at a couple of wee patches of peeling skin from my recent sunbathing efforts! Tomatoes have been a bit slow to come on this summer but we are now starting to stash a few so that I can make some relish. I adore a daub of relish with a meaty, home-kill sausage! I did my first relish making last summer and am quite converted to the concept. This is what I wrote this time last year before I had started up my blog....18 February 2009. Today I made Tomato Relish! Quite momentous for me - my first attempt at 'preserves'. Although my Darling Man and I did bottle some beetroot out of our garden a few months ago. He really likes beetroot and cheese sandwiches.
To prepare myself to 'do something' with the mounting pile of tomatoes for our garden - I read up every recipe for tomato relish in my possession. Deciding it all looked quite manageable I set about making a combination of three of the most appealing and workable recipes. It seems to have turned out rather tasty. The big test will be when my Darling Man comes home and slops some on a cracker and cheese. I was rather heavy-handed with the mustard, curry powder and cayenne pepper so it is quite a 'perky' brew! He will like that. On the jars I have slapped some of the cute 'Cecily' labels that Dean & Erica gave me for Christmas.
The photo doesn't really record the momentous occasion truthfully - it's a set up photo shot taken after all the clean up. In actual fact, I ended up with relish splodges in lots of different places all around my kitchen, by the time I juggled the sterile jars, heavy pot and HOT, sticky relish!!! All things considered I am encouraged and keen to have a go at Plum Jam next.Re-reading what I wrote last year confirms to me that we ARE having such a different tomato season this year. Last year we had a 'mounting pile' - this year I am counting to see if I have enough for the recipe... that is after we've eaten some fresh in salads and on crackers and sandwiches!
Sharon's Version of Tomato Relish
12 medium tomatoes
6 onions
600mls malt vinegar
500gms sugar
1 Tblspn salt
1/2 Tblspn mustard powder
1/2 Tblspn curry powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
crushed garlic to taste
Cut up tomatoes and onions, cover with vinegar and stand for one hour. Bring to the boil and boil for 5 minutes. Then add all other ingredients. Stir well and boil for one hour. Stir occasionally. Thicken with 3 Tblspns of flour mixed to a paste with some vinegar. Bottle and seal.
mmmmmmmm I love home-made tomato relish. I eat it with everything, fish and chips, bacon and egg pie and of course cheeses and chackers are fave things to have with it. I should have tried making some last year with our bulk lot of tomatoes too. I usually score a bottle of my mother in laws makings which is delish!
ReplyDeleteI would make tomato relish but we had an ocean of cucumbers so have made pickles and relish from them, lucky because our toms have not done well at all. However our boss is a marvellous organic gardener and they've had their fill of his crop of tomatoes so I have been the grateful recipient of the excess. I have bottled them as pasta sauce, roasting them with garlic,peppers and olive oil then put it all in the blender back into the pot to boil and bottled. It will be interesting to see whether it goes down as well as the supermarket stuff!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, tomato relish......so amazing! Tried some of Paul's brew a week ago; I love it so much! Will have to bring you round a couple of jars Ma, and maybe some tomatoes too (even if I have to buy them haha, our tom season hasn't been great either). We also have many cucumbers Clevedon Crew. Funny old world. xE
ReplyDeleteWell done! Thanks for the tomato relish recipe too. I think I'd tell the entire world if I managed to make my own relish lol.
ReplyDeleteMy wonderful husband has taken to making relish, since he and the boys eat it on everything, sunday he was cooking away making another brew, good on him it has also had the A+ from his Aunty, Delwyn
ReplyDeleteToday I woke to a cooler morning. The type that gives you that feeling of Christmas. That all has been made right with the world. Ahhh, deep breath, big stretch and a welcome hit of caffiene. What should I do with this glorious morning??? I know... Aunties blog! And oh, the feeling of yumminess continued as I feasted my eyes on your special stories. How lucky am I to have access to them. Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm
ReplyDeleteSounds lovely.... I saw your mention of Pete and Beetroot. At the local market the other week ( sorry the Domestic Gene missed me :-() I got some amazing Ginger Beetroot. There is something to experiment in it is divine!!
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