When I need good tomatoes or cucumbers I go to the one 'shop' I know best. Each Saturday our local markets are held at Warrawong on the lake; and if you don't catch your regulars there, you can drop in on Sunday at the Dapto markets. I visited both this weekend past to get the finest organic produce I know to make some preserves for Christmas gifts this year. When you first park your car on the lawn in Warrawong, as you enter the rows of stalls, they are right there on the right hand side. You can't miss this stall. They confidently advertise that they are 100% organic and the sweetest in Australia.
I've been going there for years now, and have just began sharing my preserves with Mama. She's the boss on the stall, Mama sits at the scales and the cash-tin and everyone pays her; but her hubby and two boys work the stall and help out the hoards of customers. They sell out every week, so I know their produce is very fresh, and they are only up the road in Picton as well. Brilliant! Yesterday I took them a jar of my Plum Sauce and a small basket of Mini Black Russian tomatoes from my garden, and much to my amazement Mama was blown away by my generosity. She kept popping more cucumbers in my bag while we talked, even though I had already paid. I can't wait to find out what she thinks of my Tomato Relish and Choko Pickles.
Last weekend I ordered another box of Green Tomatoes off Mama, which I picked up on Saturday.
They have introduced a new cucumber variety (I'll tell you about it tomorrow) to their stall and I've decided to try them out on my Bread and Butter Pickled Cucumber recipe, but that will be tomorrow's post, as I only salted them last night.
Not all the produce here is from the markets, but I had already made some purchases elsewhere. |
I've blogged about Green Tomato Pickles before but I was lazy and used the whizzer to chop them up...It made the final product far to runny for my liking. I chopped them all by hand this time; producing a much better consistency.....
Enough chatter Narelle!! Get on with it!!
- I can't stress enough on how organized you need to be at this bottling time. It's important that you have enough bottles ready.
- When decanting into glass jars, I use a jug with a handle like this....If I need to put down the jug, I just hang it over the inside of the boiler like so. The only time I put the messy jug on the bench is when I scrape down the sides of the boiler for the last 1 or 2 jars.
- After scooping up a jug of hot pickles, scrape the outside of the jug onto the inside of the boiler. This helps to prevent any drips on the jars, and makes for a lot quicker cleanup.
Green Tomato Pickles 5 1/2 kg of Green Tomatoes AND 2 1/2 kg of Onions |
Did you know that Green Tea can be grown in your own garden? I never knew that a Camellia variety (Camellia Sinensis) was in fact Green Tea that tea-drinkers enjoy. There are many health benefits to be had by drinking Green Tea.
My mate Richard gave me a few small branches, actually I pinched them out of the back of his ute....lol It's easy to propagate too, but I dried this lot, as we have done them in class.
Green Tea - Camellia Senensis |
wow you have been a busy bee, nothing like home made preserves I love them
ReplyDeleteThanks Angela: I'm flat out in the kitchen at the moment, but I spent most of today taking photos for a new blog I'm designing for a friend. Off to tackle those cucumbers now.
DeleteNarelle I haven't been to either of those markets, are they open the weekends after Christmas? Your preserves look great -- as always. :)
ReplyDeleteRose; I'm pretty sure the only weekend they wouldn't be open is if Christmas Day fell on the weekends. Dapto Markets has a small parking area near McDonalds, people also park in the Ribbonwood center and walk into the showgrounds. There is also parking at the back entrance of the showgrounds, where the office is for the greyhounds etc. Warrawong on Saturdays and Dapto on Sundays. Wear a hat!
DeleteThank you for posting up the recipe for the green tomato preserves. I always mean to check out recipes to have on hand, but still hadn't done so. They look so yummy!!
ReplyDeleteI haven't ever considered growing my own green tea, either, but glad to see it's not too difficult to do. I've always wanted some camellia plants, so now have a really good excuse to get some. :)
I'm so glad to see you are "back", Narelle! And busy as ever :) You are an inspiration to me!
ReplyDeleteI love those pickles, how many pickled tomato can you make a day? Is it possible to grow tulsi herb than a green tea even on a hot weather country?
ReplyDeleteHi great reading youur post
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