Let’s get the old gang back together!

Ever since this whole jam business turned into a whole jam business, I haven’t exactly kept up with the old blog. Well, I aim to change that.

Here’s the skinny on the new david matthew:

1) It’s no longer about preserves. That’s my job now.
2) It’s still about food, food projects and me.
3) For more information, see 1 & 2.

1000 Views

I broke 1000 views on my little old blog this week. 

That’s fun!

Oh, also, Barack Obama is gonna be president.

That’s double fun!

Green Tomato Preserves with Ginger and Apples

I came into a lot of green tomatoes this year as the frost approached. There’s no sense leaving them on the plant once a frost is on its way, so Clare and I and the neighbors picked all we had still on the vine and now I have the charge of making them taste good in jars. I’ve got about ten pounds.

Ok.

There are several recipes from Ferber, but they all sounded kinda wierd. 

Green Tomato and Cinnamon?

Green Tomato and Apples and Orange?

Green Tomato and Pumpkin?

Green Tomato and Veal Kidneys?

Ok, I made that last one up, but ew, right?

So, I decided to try Green Tomato and Ginger.

And then, as I was cooking, I was smelling the preserves and I thought to myself, “Hmm.. this smells great, I smells kinda like apple cider.”

Apple cider you say? Well, that was enough to convince me to cut up some Honeycrisp I bought at an orchard last week and toss ‘em in the pot.

I like the end result. It’s got a nice smell and flavor and I really like the color. The tomatoes got much darker as they cooked.

Here’s the method.

Wash tomatoes.

Cut tomatoes into wedges and mix with an equal amount of sugar and juice of a lemon.  

Let macerate overnight. Bring to a boil the next day and return to fridge overnight.

The next day (day three by now), add medium dice apples and return to a boil.

Simmer and reduce until you achieve the desired set.

Here’s my end result:

Ok, here’s the next thing. 

I only used half the tomatoes and I’m needing to get going on the second half and I want your input.

So, vote for one of the two options below and I’ll make the winner:

Watermelon Rose Uncovered

Hey folks,

A funny thing happened to me last week.

I was sitting around at home working on some things and listening to a little Tom Waits, as I often do, when he sang something that made me pause.

Now, Tom sings a lot of strange things, but this was different.

Do you remember when I made my Watermelon Rose Jelly that I said it sounded like both a bath gel and a stripper?

Well, watch this (I recommend putting your kids and prudish aunt out of earshot).

The part you’re lookin’ for is at 1:13 if you don’t want to watch the whole thing, which I won’t pretend to understand.

Now, I want you to realized that this was the first Tom Waits song I ever heard. I thought it was the strangest, most wonderful thing I had ever heard and I have a vivid memory of the scene:

I was 15 and it was raining after a rehearsal at school. I was planning on walking home, when Lindsay Buccina offered me a ride home. I was a sophmore and she was a senior. And I had a crush on her.

Naturally, I said yes.

We walked to her powder blue late ’80s Chevy sedan and got inside. She offered me a cigarette and put on this song.

I said, “Who is this?”

She said, “You don’t know Tom Waits? You should really listen to Tom Waits. You’d like him a lot.”

I wasn’t about to dissappoint, so I ran out the next day and bought two albums and the rest is history.

It never went anywhere with Lindsay, but I got hooked on Tom Waits that night and even got a tasty jelly recipe out of it as well.

Apparently that name has been kicking around in my head for all this time.

So, friends, my advice to you is to never turn down a ride home in the rain from a cute girl.

Who knows where it could lead?