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| Tomato Chutney |
I made a batch of tomato chutney, today, with 5 lbs. of tomatoes. I made 7 1/2 pint jars of chutney. I have more tomatoes, but, I need to buy more mustard seeds to make more chutney. I might just cut up the remaining tomatoes and freeze them to make pasta sauce, later. Or to use in cooking (I like to add tomatoes to my chicken curries, etc.)
And the salsa? My neighbors put up their tents this morning! Just two tents, this time around. The music started at 5:30 p.m. There are speakers and microphones and vocalists, but, no mariachi band. Instead, we have salsa, with the addition of Spanish versions of Summer Time Blues, Achy Breaky Heart, and some Saturday Night Fever, complete with a disco ball. I guess it was someone's birthday because they also sang Happy Birthday at one point. I am writing this post at 11:00 p.m. and the music is still going on.
At first, I closed my family room window to mute the sound, but, then, it became too hot inside the house. My daughter suggested I put on my headphones; they are not sound blocking headphones, but, plugged into my computer with my choice of music playing in my ears, the neighbors' music fades into a faint noise in the background. I'm glad neighbor T's realtor held the open house last evening instead of today! LOL.
Brunch had been toast with peanut butter. I think I need a new toaster - the bread was toasted on one side, only! I also need more bread; maybe it's time to put in another grocery order. Dinner was leftover pot roast with pan fried potato slices.
Today, I am grateful for:
- The tomato harvest (I picked a few more today, too)
- Another batch of tomato chutney for the pantry cupboard (and gift giving)
- Working headphones
- Fans and electricity to run them
- Water for the garden
Today's joyful activity was video chatting with my daughter. She said there was a thunder storm yesterday evening and later, I saw on the news a video of rain cascading down the steps in Fenway Park, due to the same rain storm.
No special plans for tomorrow. I'll probably do some laundry and do a bit of tidying. How was your Saturday? What are your plans for Sunday?
I'm glad you got round to making your tomato chutney, that looks a good crop of tomatoes. Too bad that your neighbours held another loud party and I hope it didn't go on way past 11 p.m. that really isn't fair. May I ask if the noisy neighbours house is in between your home and neighbour T? If so I can imagine the new owners of T's home will not be too happy either.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen. Today might have been a better day for chutney making as it is 10 degrees cooler! But, I wasn't sure how long the tomatoes would keep in this heat.
DeleteSurprisingly, the music stopped around midnight! I fully expected it to go on until at least 2:00 a.m.!
Actually, my house is between the noisy neighbors and T's house. I get the full blast of it, although, the music is loud enough for all the neighbors to hear!
FD speaking!! I found this recipe https://slowcookingperfected.com/slow-cooker-tomato-chutney/ which may (or may not!) be of use. Well done on getting that chutney made! I hope your neighbour's music didn't go on too late!
ReplyDeleteThank you, FD! I took a look at the site you linked. The recipe is different, but, I now have an idea of how to make chutney in the slow cooker! In fact, I might try that recipe. My crock pot is so old that it doesn't have a removable pot which makes it difficult to wash without getting the flex wet! As a result, I rarely use it!
DeleteMuch to my surprise, the music stopped around midnight, last night!
So many pretty tomatoes. We finally have our first ripe tomatoes, but they have blossom end rot - probably because of our lack of rain. I've been watering, but not enough apparently. However, the cherry tomatoes seem to be doing okay.
ReplyDeleteThank you, June. Oh, so sorry your tomatoes have blossom end rot! A sign that the plants are unable to get enough calcium, probably due to insufficient water. Tomatoes like moist, but, well drained, soil. Glad your cherry tomatoes are doing well.
DeleteSalsa! Great play on words! The chutney looks wonderful. I looked at your recipe, and it looks delicious! I'm going to try it when tomatoes come in the farmers market. It's still a bit early here, but it won't be long. I hope the party didn't go too late!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Celie. ;-) The chutney turned out well; sweet and spicy! The chilies I used are extra hot, so, I reduced the quantity just a little bit. By the way, FD has posted a link to a crockpot tomato chutney recipe in her comment above. I took a look at it and the trick is to leave the lid partly open during the last several hours of cooking so that the water can evaporate.
DeleteThe music stopped shortly after midnight, which was surprisingly early for them! I was quite pleased. :)
Che bello che sei riuscita a fare tanta buona salsa di pomodoro
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stefania. According to Google Translate, you said, "How nice that you managed to make so much good tomato sauce"; I hope that's correct? :)
DeleteHa ha, you and I have the opposite problem with mustard seeds. I have loads! They vanished for a while so my sister bought me a bag of brown ones as it was all she could get, and then when I found the yellow ones I bought three little pots. So now I am checking whether the recipes specify yellow mustard seeds, and if not, I put the brown ones in to use them up. (I have no taste preference but the yellow ones look nice in certain things.) Your chutney looks nice - do you leave skins on or take them off? I leave on for chutney but take off for relish.
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of the set list for the party but I don't envy you having to put up with so many of them, for so long and so loud.
When making toast I usually put the bread in twice, turning upside down between toastings, but it sounds as if you might have to think about getting a new toaster soon, or switching to the grill - though I suppose even with that you would need to turn the bread...
Ella (can't log in again!)
Hi Ella, I generally use brown mustard seeds. I used to remove the skin, but, this time, I was lazy and left the skin on. I don't think it made much of a difference.
DeleteI liked the music that I recognized! :D Towards the end, they even played Engelbert Humperdinck's "A Man Without Love" - I haven't heard that song played in a long time (I have one of his CDs in my collection).
I suppose I can put the bread back in and toast it twice! One side always toasted a little lighter than the other, but, this time, one side was not toasted at all!
I'm sorry you can't log in, again. :(
You have been busy with the chutney, complete with unwanted musical accompaniment! Using the headphones later was a good idea. I was thinking your toaster would be good to toast bagels. Our toaster has a setting that will only toast the inside, if you insert the pieces the correct way! My problem with bagels - the hole in the middle! It is so much easier to spread something without a hole.
ReplyDeleteYes, I finally made the chutney I had been planning to make for several days! My toaster has extra wide slots to toast bagels! I guess it won't be a bagel without the hole, so, you'll have to put up with the difficulty of spreading the toppings! :)
DeleteWow you were really busy! It all looks very nice. Did it get awfully hot when you were making it?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon. Yes, it got a bit hot standing by the stove and stirring the chutney, but, I have a table fan on the counter and I had it on the whole time. :)
DeleteOh no
ReplyDeleteAnother party. Oh gosh. I'm glad the headphones help at least a little. Reading through the comments, I see they stopped around midnight which is not exactly early but I guess it could've been worse.
Your tomato chutney photos are gorgeous with all that deep color.
Lots of effort on your part goes into chutney making so kudos to you.
I hope you drank your water so you didn't cramp.
I will check out FD's link to the crock pot chutney.
If you do take a trip to the dollar store (for bread??) are there any thrift stores nearby? They always have crock pots - you might see one that would be easier to wash.
Or you could just buy a new one hahahaha but you know I'm always looking to save money ;)
Yes, another party and the tents are still up, so I wonder if they are planning to have another one soon!
DeleteI was very lucky, this time, and didn't get cramps!
I have a bit of a Catch 22 situation with my crock pot! I don't use it much because it's so hard to clean and because I don't use it that much, I feel I don't need another one! :D I also don't know if I will use a new one often enough to justify the storage space...
The chutney sounds delicious. I might need to make some myself if my tomatoes continue to grow well.
ReplyDeleteYikes! for the tents making a reappearance. X
Both my daughter and I like my tomato chutney. I hope you will be able to make some with your tomatoes.
DeleteThe tents are down now! :D