If there’s one thing that I absolutely cannot stand, it’s wasting vibrant, perky produce. But when a recipe calls for only 1 tbl of fresh, minced herb and the store only sells them in gargantuan bunches, my palms sweat as I begin planning my week’s menu all around this stupid little herb, just so every last bit of it gets used. Cooking is no longer fun when I have to come up with concoctions like Chocolate Parsley Ice Cream, Oooey, Gooey, Caramel Oregano Buns or even Lucky Charms with Marjoram Sprinkles just to avoid the guilt of being a wasteful human being and risk bad veggie karma.
Wouldn’t it be cool if produce stores sold herbs by the fraction of an ounce? Like, I could go and pinch a teeny, tiny little bud of dill that weighed 2 grams, because that’s all the recipe called for. I’d gladly pay double the price just so I don’t have to open my refrigerator door and have this dill monster shaking its now soggy, flaccid fist at me, screaming, “Curse you, vegetable sinner!”
Last fall, inspired by my friend, Jan, I began planting my own herb and vegetable garden to combat this problem. I had visions of running outside on a whim, caressing my beautiful, lively herbs, inhaling its sweet, grassy fragrance, and only plucking what I needed for tonight’s supper. Dreamily, I purchased 3 tomato vines, 6 different herbs, a selection of 4 gourmet lettuces, broccoli, 3 chili peppers, and 3 lime trees. I could hardly wait!
It’s been 4 months. So, you wanna know what really happened? Well, the plants grew fast and furious – the tomatoes shot up 3 feet in one month and started popping out hundreds of green tomatoes, the herbs went hopping mad and took over the entire side of the lanai, especially the mint, which began its hostile takeover of garlic chives. The colossal broccoli leaves cannibalized all available sunlight and left poor chili peppers to crane its neck this way and that just to reach a spot of warmth.
The garden totally consumed me – from figuring out what to do with a bucket of lettuce leaves every other day to scolding mint bully to back the hell off of chives. I began giving away bouquets of herbs to friends, neighbors, the mailman. I left bags of tomatoes in unlocked cars at the gas station. I hid herbs in my purse, pouncing on anyone browsing in the herb section, “Hey, ya want some free herbs?” And no, Thai Basil is not smokable.
It was bad, outta control bad. Thankfully, the “Giant Arctic Florida Freeze of 2008” happened in January and the frost took down about half of my crops.
BEFORE AFTER ARCTIC FLORIDA FREEZE
I KNOW! I KNOW! Slap me. I bragged about 
my tomato harvest on Christmas Eve! Some weather god up there must have heard me say, “neener neener boo-boo!” and POOF! The Giant Arctic Florida Freeze was all my fault. I take full responsibility and in the future will think twice before rubbing the Florida sunshine in someone else’s freezing ass.
Well, in the end, peace has once again descended upon the Steamy Kitchen household and a happy medium with my garden has been discovered. The frost left me with straggly bits of cilantro and mint, a few peppers and a big bucket of fallen green tomatoes. My good friend, Jeremy of Cork Restaurant in Sarasota, shared with me his recipe for Green Tomato & Jalapeno Jam. It’s heavenly sweet heat slathered in a simple grilled chicken sandwich.
In case you are wondering…
We Tampa Bay Floridians are a bunch of pussies. Keep in mind that The Giant Arctic Florida Freeze happened early January, which is normally the middle of the frickin’ winter in the United States.
NEWS HEADLINES: because our reporters have nothing else to sensationalize
“Tampa’s Massive Arctic Blast”
“Tampa Braces for Deep Freeze”
“Record Lows as Tampans Prepare for Winter Freeze”
The freeze indeed did happen. Just for like 2 hours. REALLY! For 2 whole entire hours, the citizens of my community did not know what to do. We were scared shitless.
THE REALITY
January 2nd: flip flops, shorts
**January 3rd: flip flops, jeans, light jacket, socks** <–THE FREEZE. I wore socks with my flip flops. Think GHETTO-Geisha.
January 4th: flip flops, jeans, light jacket
January 5th: flip flops, shorts
You don’t believe me? OMG. Watch this short clip – if you look realllly hard, you’ll find traces of The Giant Arctic Florida Freeze. And it only froze under that tree cuz a homeless man must have pissed under it.
The famous 2-headed broccoli
but only one of them tasted sweet…the other tasted slightly mischievous
2nd photo – from left to right…alligator pond, herb box, salad greens, broccoli, lemongrass.
Oh, and that mysterious, handsome object behind the plants?
I was a 
BAD, BAD girl when husband went away!
Green Tomato and Jalapeno Jam
from Chef Jeremy of Cork Restaurant
This isn’t a typical sweet breakfast jam – this is a savory, sweet and spicy jam great on sandwiches, grilled fish/chicken. Think of cranberry sauce on turkey type of combo.
Simply AWESOME.
4 jalapenos, stems & seeds removed, sliced
1 cup loosely packed cilantro and mint steams and leaves (the ratio of each is up to your taste)
2” section of ginger, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, smashed
½ cup cider vinegar
2 tbl soy sauce
1 lb green tomatoes (skin removed and chopped)
3 cups sugar
In a blender or food processor, blend the jalapenos, herbs, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and cider vinegar till smooth. Add the mixture to a heavy bottom pot with the sugar and tomatoes. Place on the heat, bring to a simmer and cook on low till glossy and thick, about 15 minutes. Make sure you stir occasionally to avoid the jam from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!
Stay in touch with me in our 
I’ve been cooking this for two hours and it still isn’t thick! Super frustrating. The flavor is amazing but I wonder about all that vinegar. I used a ton of tomatoes, less sugar and one cup of vinegar since there were about 15 cups of chopped tomatoes. I’ll keep cooking it down for another hour, but I might get maybe five little jars of jam out of the batch.
How long can this be kept and should the jam be kept in the refrigerator or can it be it be kept on a shelf. I want to make the jam now and give as Christmas gifts
Hi Gloria – can and preserve for the holidays! Just look up “canning how to” in google.
how do you can it? how long in a water bath etc
If it didn’t thicken, my suggestion is that the recipe calls for too much sugar. The general rule of thumb for jam is equal quantities of fruit and sugar by weight. Therefore 1 pound of fruit to 1 pound of sugar (which is more or less 2.5 cups of sugar. I generally reduce the sugar to 70% sugar by weight, or 1.75 cups of sugar for 1 pound of fruit. Also,
you have to remember that sugar is considered a “wet” ingredient: it “liquidizes” and attracts the water molecules to it. So, with 3 cups of sugar in this recipe, you have a more liquid mixture that has to reduce in order to have the right thickness. I used 2 cups of sugar to 1 pound of green tomatoes. Also I used a countertop electric fryer/cooker (this one: https://www.amazon.com/Presto-Options-Electric-Multi-Cooker-Steamer/dp/B00005OTXY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1477987509&sr=8-3&keywords=fryer%2Fcooker ), which cycles on and off at a given temperature setting and so cooks more consistently (without boiling over). I did check it every 2 to 3 minutes to stir it. I have to say that if you “simmer” this on low, it will not cook to the desired consistency in 15 minutes. It needs to cook at more of a medium-low temperature, so that it will have more of an active “boil”. But, in an ordinary saucepan, you will need to stand over it and stir it frequently so it will not boil over or scorch.
That said, it is a great condiment with a great flavor that I’m looking forward to serving with a lot of dishes.
your recipe sounds great and it’s being spread around the net like crazy…i’ve made lots of jam in my time and it sounds like we need to cook the mixture between 15 and 45 minutes. i’m pretty sure that it will stiffen up some as it cools but your additional comment about chutney clarifies it. i’m green (get it?) with envy over your garden (and that darling little broccoli head). i couldn’t water enough in SoCal to get even one tomato this year . thankfully the farmer’s market still has an abundance. can’t wait to try this one.
I have tried this recipe and it is not thickening. I had to double everything as I had 2lbs of green toms. So even with double cooking time allowed it is still as runny as it went in:((
SAD as this was my very first batch of tomatoes – even though green – and my first jalapenoes and mint from my garden.
Dear Steamy Kitchen I just try to make you green tomatoes jalapeño jam recipe and the 15 minutes was quite inaccurate. Also three cups of sugar was to much for just one pound of green tomatoes.After let it cook for an hour it was ok,but nothing of what I was expected.
Hi SteamyKitchen,
Thanks very much for your response. Well something certainly went wrong in that 2 hours. It was taking so long to thicken, that I brought it to a boil for a while until it was “glossy and thick” on the stove. I then let it cool last night and I stored it in an air tight container. Today-24hrs later- the jam has turned into a goopy, super thick, hard to spread, glue-y paste. Could bringing it to a boil have been the problem? Is there any ingredient you can suggest to dilute it to the right consistency. All this said the flavor is still nice.
Also, I found your recipe through Kevin at Closet Cooking. He suggests 45 minutes to your 15. I am wondering why such a extreme discrepancy in cooking time?
thank you and looking forward to your response, B
Dear Steamy Kitchen,
I just tried to make your green tomato chutney/jam recipe tonight. Though, the flavors is very nice, the cooking time of 15 minutes was quite inaccurate. I followed your recipe precisely and it too me almost 2 hours to get the right consistency. Can you please explain in more detail about cooking time and temperatures.
Also, can you recommend a natural, non artificial sugar substitute?
Thank you, B
Hey there! It really shouldn’t have taken 2 hours! Water content of the tomatoes may have affected your timing? The jam should be thick and glossy, coating the back of a wooden spoon.
Instead of sugar, you can use 2/3 measurement of agave syrup.
Fantastic shot of the jam…love it!
Hey mango girl!
No tartness at all. It’s the perfect combo of sweet, salty, spicy. I should have really called it a “chutney”!
jaden
Phil, I’m sure it would work as Splenda dissolves just like sugar.
Jaden,
Do you think I could substitute Splenda for the sugar? I was thinking maybe 3/4 Splenda & 1/4 real sugar.
What would this do to the consistency?
Thanks, Phil W.
I agree with you about the herbs. Why do they sell parsley in such huge frickin’ bunches anyway? And I warn you, you will be fighting the mint for the rest of your life if you don’t kill it NOW.
And don’t get me started on your weather. My mom and sister both live in Sarasota. My mom will say, “I’m glad I didn’t golf today, because it was only 60 degrees.” After a long unsympathetic silence from me, she’ll say, “you know, 60 feels a lot colder here.” NO IT DOESN’T. Put on a SWEATER.
Just throw the extra parsley on a sheet pan and on low heat (oven) dry it…or try the microwave…crumble and put up in a jar for the season…I do this non stop with all of my herbs and it is amazing…
We’re being ravished by African snails so my entire potted herb-garden is gone 🙁 all I have left is a sturdy rosemary plant.
Oh, yeah. I can relate. Several years, hundreds of dollars, probably hundreds of billable hours and much dirt on the floor later, I have pared my indoor window herb garden down to the things that are either, shall we say, drought tolerant, or yummy enough for me to bang my head against a wall to keep them alive against the odds. Rosemary (loves my big window, currently a monster), chives (low-maintenance, thank god), sorrel (practically a weed… takes a lickin, keeps on… don’t use it very often but it doesn’t seem to mind), sage, bay leaf, thyme (finally coming into its own and catching up with rosemary), oregano and tarragon. It’s the tarragon that really gets me… I’ve been through more grief with the stupid tarragon. I even ordered this weird swampy bacteria stuff over the internet to try to rid it (organically) of fungus gnats (but there’s still definitely a colony of… something… living in it… aaaarrrgh!). But still it soldiers on… there are a whole bunch of sprouts now keeping the one spindly remaining branch company.
If I can kill whatever is living in the tarragon, I’ll re-seed some basil for the summer.
I found that parsley and cilantro kept well enough in the fridge (I agree with Chris, #42) that it made more sense to just buy it. I keep it in a water glass on the fridge door, and periodically fresh cut the bottoms as you would flowers if it seems to be wilting. I don’t bother to cover it. It easily lasts 2+ weeks, and generally gets used before it dies. (Key, though, is keeping leaves out of the water… otherwise you’ll get fridge swamp.)
Other things I found I used infrequently enough that it was easier to buy (and easier to forgive yourself for throwing out the extra… so maybe it was all just an elaborate measure in social engineering. Aimed at myself.).
I love herbs too, and just like you, i always get very tempted to buy loads and loads of cilantro and mint leaves while doing the grocery.. But Alas! I just cannot make out what is the most effective way to store them all ‘fresh’ for a long time.. 🙁 Enjoyed reading your post. I too plan to make a little herb garden in my backyard this summer, just waiting impatiently for it..
I have a pour pale yellow bunch of cilantro in a cup inside my refrigerator right now that I forgot about! I wish they created a herb bar at the grocery stores like how they have a salad bar and you pick and choose what you want then pay by the weight.
Jaden, you should lead a revolution to change the way herbs are sold in America! (That’s after you deal with your fast-growing garden.)
Hi Jaden how are you ?
In italy we use to eat some jam, like yours, with pecorino cheese, it’s delicious!
Hugs and kisses
Cilantro: cilantro chutney — we make one supposedly Tibetan
Dill: whole huge bunch goes in the freezer in a plastic bag, just snip what you need
Lemon balm: what a discovery, clean taste of lemon as tea
No to the trash, make a compost pile as a final resting place — they will reincarnate
Green tomatoes: my father tried to make pickles (whole) like he had as a kid, never satisfied; I’ve even seen pie/quiche type recipes
If you have an open air market in your area, you can probably get just as much herbs as you need. In Germany, at the market stand that I shop at, if I need 1 sprig of parsley, that’s what I get, if I need 3 celery sticks, that’s what I get. And, if I need 1/2 or 1/3 a papaya, that’s what I get. It’s really great.
I grew green herbs in Fla. in the seventies. Never wasted anything ;0)
Love the flips and socks image We must use the same dresser
Thanks for the smile
Here is Seattle, we get a leftover of lot more green tomatoes than red in our gardens at the end of summer. Last year, I tried baking them and they were wonderful, but this sounds great. I am curios if this savory jam had a lot of tartness to it or over-powered by cider vinegar at all? Love your shots & blog…very inspiring 🙂
hi steamy! i love your pictures…the jam looks so yummy and the colors are so amazing. too bad about the 2-hour disaster, but no help here…can’t grow anything myself. the jam, i must admit, is unusual for me, but very interesting…
I started planting some herbs last year. Just a pot of basil and lemon balm. The basil is doing very well. But the mister don’t like the taste of basil, this really limits what I want to cook with the basil.
I also wished that the markets sell fresh herbs in small quantity, such a waste when I need to throw the rotted ones away.
So, you grow herbs in the herb box. Lettuce in the lettuce box. And alligators in the alligator pond? Which Steamy Kitchen recipe will be featuring fresh gator meat?
I had such a laugh! I’ve found a great way to keep coriander alive in the fridge. I plunk the whole bunch into a plastic container with water, throw a plastic bag(from the produce aisle) over it and it “lives” fairly well for up to 2 wks. I too hate to see herbs go to waste! I have also seen that vietnamese mint(aka laksa leaves) do very well indoors(which I will try to do that next winter). I grew mine last summer outdoors by literally throwing a bunch I had bought from a grocery store into the ground! At the end of summer, I wrapped the leaves with the sticky saran wrap before placing in the freezer. Still looks ok though the taste is a bit less intense.
my supernatural talent = killing plants (any plants, hmm, except the ones which are already dead)
i’ve recently visited hk’s prince edward flower market and pointed at almost everything there, saying “i’ve killed this one before, & tat one & those ones too”
i tried keeping a pot of mint. From this post & comments i learnt (with sooo much amazement) that mint is a dominatrix bully. And I (ofcourse), still managed to kill it in no time. Maybe u guys should call me to lay my hands on your mint, or maybe just give your mint “the look” (i can feel mints shuddering with fear from here as i type)
supernaturally, i might just kill them in no time
The mint takes over everything! My husband says that you can just throw mint seeds on the ground and it will survive. The mint bully has certainly visited my house as well.
But oh do I love mint in my lemonades and iced tea all summer long, and it helps keep bugs away!
Wow, another new layout for the website?!
Uhh…so what are ya gonna plant next season? LOL
I love it! This post has me in hysterics! When we went to visit my dad in FL in Dec., we were like maniacs running through the farmer’s market buying fresh produce ‘in season’-Dec. in Denver dried pinto beans are the only thing in season. Lucky, lucky you! I’m imagining the flip flops with socks-hehe.
That’s really a shame that you lost those crops! You’re kinda making me feel bad that we often don’t find enough uses for our fresh herbs and put them in the trash! 🙁
I am battling Herb Shame right now- the cilantro in my pasta tonight came from a HUGE bunch at the grocery store, and you can’t overload a dish with cilantro, or the flavour simply becomes Cilantro Cilantro with a side of Cilantro.
Also, weather? Hah. Here in Massahusetts we got three inches of snow last night and somewhere after that it started raining. It hasn’t stopped all day. Six- to eight-inch deep rivers of slush are carting away small dogs as we speak. I wore Shoes That Are Not Flip-Flops for the first time in months- mind you, I have never worn socks with flip-flops before.
I totally covet that herb garden! Not only do I live in Chicago (where the Great Arctic Freezes happen quite a bit more frequently), but there isn’t consistent sunlight anywhere in my teeny tiny yard.
Also, that brown ribbon on the jar is adorable.
What a beautiful picture, it’s really stunning! Your jam looks phenomenal! Love your blog.
pickypalate
So have have you to blame for the artic blast! I was on vacation in Orlando from Dec. 31 through Jan. 5 and it sucked! It was very, very cold and windy . . . not “very, very” cold by DC standards . . . but I spent all kinds of money and blew vacation days and flew all the way to Florida looking for warm sunshine. Damn you, Jaden . . . daaaaaaaaaamn you (shaking clenched fists in the air)!
I totally agree with you on the mini herb packets thing! its so hard to use a teeny-weeny bit from a bagful or mint or basil or parsely and see th rest of it rotting! the jam, or I guess Indians would call it “chutney” looks great, btw!
First things first, is there a worse word in the English language than flaccid?
Enough said.
I’m with Helene on the fried green tomatoes. Yum! (except I use a mixture of flour and cornmeal.
There is also a recipe I have in an old Junior Service League cookbook for green tomato cake that is awesome. I’ll look it up tonight when I get home.
My herb garden drowned last year. Even the Rosemary. Only the mint came back.
(Of course)
To all of you wondering what to do with your green tomatos…haven’t ya’ll heard of FRIED GREEN TOMATOS? Here in the south they’re on almost every restaurant menu and easy to fix. Just lighty coat them with flour (so the batter holds on), dip into batter and fry in a frypan ’til golden…oh yummy!
I grow all of the ingredients except the ginger in my garden, so will file this away for summer.
I always have a surfeit of herbs at the end of the summer and dry and freeze them with great success.
luckily, I had planted my tomatoes in a pot, so I could bring them in the house. my basil and parsley are under plastic tarps and so far okay, even with the snow we had. the jam looks delicious.
Well, my garden is buried underneath about 2 feet of snow right now!!
This jam sounds wonderful!
Hey! Speak for yourself! I’m not a weather pussy! I wait all year for that 2 hours of nippy, cool weather we get. 😉 Actually, I remember that day. It really was cold! I ran around all day in my flip flops and ski jacket.
So it is you who is responsible for murdering my basil crop!
love it! i’m jealous — i have a tiny pot of basil growing on my windowsill, but that’s it! did you know that you can’t even buy herb seeds in NYC at this time of year?!? none of the grocery stores or whole foods carry them until spring. so sad!
i have an herb garden too, it is the only part of my yard that hubby knows that if he messes with, he’s dead meat! (he’s a hacker gardener…if it looks green, it’s a weed…hack away and kill it!) i needed a recipe for green tomatoes, i end up with lots of them here, the season is done before the tomatoes are! that one looks delicious!
I’ve just started my own herb garden in the Florida sun, but using slightly different principles to allow some of the herbs to shelter themselves from the harsh sun during the summer months. Also, since things are raised, there is adequate drainage to put up with 1-2″ day-long rainstorms like we had yesterday.
See what you think:
http://sbroadway.livejournal.com/443059.html
If all goes well, I’m also going to do a keyhole garden to grow veggies:
http://www.sendacow.org.uk/schools.asp?active_page_id=272
Oh, and last night I got to (finally!) enjoy the first fruits from my orange tree! A screwdriver never tasted so good as when made with hand-juiced backyard oranges.
Watch out planting oregano. Like mint, it’ll take over your garden and is almost impossible to remove as it sends out runners seeking any sort of ground, between bricks or any space it’ll grow.
Last summer here in CT, I planted 6 started basil plants so I could start harvesting a few leaves at a time, and planted a small area of seeds so I could have basil throughout the summer and into the Fall.
Believe me the 6 started plants were MORE than enough.
I made a ton of pesto and froze it so I could have the taste of summer throughout the winter and still had plenty to give away.
A dehydrator is also a solution that’ll use up lots and lots of herbs and reduce it down to more than you’ll ever use.
One thing about gardening – you learn something new every year.
For example, this year I’m going to invest in some simple garden labels so I don’t pick up started baby plants that I’ve mistaken for weeds.
Many years ago, I learned that you don’t need as many plants as you think.
For example, I like broccoli. I don’t like 4 or 5 heads all at the same time which inevitable seems to happen… same with string beans. A few fresh ones are great a bushel at a time – not so great.
And once again, beware of squash whether it’s zucchini or yellow squash.
I planted 3 yellow squash and was giving it away all summer.
Any place, any appointment, anybody who would take them.
Up here, tomatoes are easy to give away. Squash is a challenge.
The old joke is that gardeners simple put them in people’s cars and run.
Enjoy your new hobby – it’s still worth it.
My grandmother used to make jalapeno jelly and serve it to us with breakfast on toast. Thanks for bringing back good memories with this post! Your version with green tomatoes looks great.
I have the same gripes about fresh herbs!! Last summer I also had visions of harvesting my garden and utilizing it nightly until we had a huge HEAT spell and we were out of town. My lovely tomato plants took a turn for the worst, but luckily the herbs survived (and are still surviving). – I’m in San Diego so similar weather to you- Just getting ready to plant some more stuff!
The jam looks great!
BTW… your site took FOREVER to load this morning!! Did you just recently add that Foodie blogroll thingy? It seems like that was causing the holdup.
Uh, tomato. NOT tomatoe. Dan Quayle, in the house.
Hey, being that it’s winter up here, and our bought tomatoes look terrible — but not green, do you think that I could sub out the tomatoe for tomatillo? I have the same issue with herbs, and decided to whiz up my leftover cilantro and basil with a chunk of ginger and some lime juice. Then I froze it. Theory being that I could break off a chunk and add it to my thai curries. Theory remains untested. But, hey, at least it was a shot. This post alas came days too late.
What a great idea for green tomatoes. Our freeze in Boston usually occurs in the fall, but we too have an abundance of green tomatoes still hanging on the vines.
I also feel the same way about wasting fresh herbs. I kick myself every time I have to throw out a bag of parsley or dill that has turned black and melted in the fridge! Ugh!
I had a bunch of plants going nicely as well in my backyard and the cold snap hit FL while I was away on vacation and couldn’t do anything about it. I came home to a plant graveyard with few survivors bearing witness to the carnage. 🙁 There used to be basil everywhere and always a handful of hot peppers ready when I needed, along with just the right amount of herbs. Now all that remains: oregano, mint, and some chives. Time for me to start planning for this year again…
The jam looks great. I recently was given a jar of something similar but still haven’t cracked it open just yet. Sounds like a good reminder that I ought to…
I know there is nothing better than fresh herbs, but you could always dry them. Freshly dried is still ten times better than the stuff you buy in a jar at the store.
I know what you mean every time it is a huge amount of herbs they seel in the shops. Sometimes i freeze them.
Green tomato jam looks delish. Must be excelent with cold meat or sandwiches
Hmmm, there’s an idea. An herb co-op! Host the plants at your house, sell say $5 memberships in the thing, members can come over to take what they want when they need it … nothing gets wasted!
Or, even better, sell it in your online store in the amounts you mentioned! Oh right, you don’t have an online store … what was I thinking … 😉
I have a herb garden too , my basil grew out really fast and not all i have is dried out shrubs with loads of seeds, and hehe just like your my mint took over and spread like mad fire all over my chilli plants. My tomatoes gave me one harvest and died out, so I’ve put new saplings all over again, and i even grew some lovely Chinese cabbage , but the other day we got a goat for slaughtering and someone left him loose in the garden and he chomped into my cabbage ! Its no where close to cold here , bloody hot intact , but the soil here doesn’t support many vegetables and herbs. Thats why most of the stuff is imported in the country. But what i look fwd to is my mango tree bearing fruit … i can see them all over , and i just planted some zatar yesterday , fresh cuttings from a Lebanese friend. Can never imagine doing all this in Hong Kong … haha ! K now thats a lot about me.back to your chutney …
i am definately going to make this … firstly as I’ve never tried eating or cooking green tomatoes. Any serving suggestions ? what do they go best with … ??
Hope you had fun frolicking with the happy medium in your herb garden — was he cute, Mrs Steamy? 😉
I swear I read the one bit as “… Tampons prepare for hinter freeze.”
If you have leftover sprigs of mint, just put them in a glas of water for a couple of days, until they begin to grow little white roots. Then you can plant them in a small container with earth, and you’ll have a bunch of mint available whenever you need it! Don’t plant it in the garden though, cause it grows and spreads like mad; put it out in a container and you’ll enjoy it for a looooong time!
I did not hear about your 2 hour arctic weather snap. Has this destroyed the orange crops?
I love your chutney jam made from the green tomatoes…except for the cilantro bit. (yuck) I know…I am the only person in the world who hates cilantro.
I love the clean gardening slate that winter affords. You just got a little taste of it! Put your mint and other spreading herbs in pots (you can bury them in the ground with the bottoms cut out) and they won’t take over the yard.
the first pic is very very pretty 🙂
and this post was hilarious, for the most part!
our herbs died due to the strong sunlight we have here. H2B gave up planting them.. hahaha.
My husband used to make green tomato relish and several other things (can’t remember now what) with all the green tomatoes we harvested at season’s end in New Mexico. And don’t even utter the word “zucchini” to me! Not unless you’re planning on feeding the Turkish army from one season!
But yes, unless herbs can be perennials (like they are here in San Diego), there’s no point in growing them either – it’s just a more labor intensive way to waste herbs!
Speaking of which, thanks for the ones you sent to me!!!!!
Oh mint!!! i am dying to find good fresh mint and you are growing it in abundance. When I do get it I chop and freeze it in ice-trays or just make chutney’s out of it. Oh god, I can think of million ways to use mint but Mojitos come to my mind first followed by mint pulao :).
Didn’t you kill us all with jeremy’s dukkah and now this? why oh why do you do this 😉
don’t you just hate that? i HATE with utter passion wasting fresh herbs.. like mint!! i buy it to make MOJITOS, etc.. but never use enough to kill it all…
it’s such a task being single… 🙂
jam looks really good! though soy sauce, really?? hmm. would have thought of that.