Recession Proof Gourmet

Hi Everybody

Time for another recipe and a few words from yours truly, words not neccessarily of wisdom.

In the long and distant past when I was still young, (greener than the main ingredient of our recipe today) just moving into my new home as a newly wed. I was faced with a large......no....no make that huge new backyard where some sod had been laid but moles invaded it and now it was a patch of green with numerous black eruptions. I now realize that black soil is good and well it should have been since this housing project was built on a former orchard.

Well, after we got the mole problem solved (I don't remember how but I do remember it was long and hard as they were determined) I was still faced with this new back yard and I having never even grown one of those beans that the kindergarten kids get to grow in half eggshells (I think that's how it went with my kids) I need to populate this outdoor space. We, of course have no money to buy plants since we had sunk everything we owned into this new house, luckily we had a relative who was a seasoned gardener, a market gardener in fact who supplied us with several rose bushes, the roses on them would be a beautiful pink and they were very fragrant. I planted rose bushes all along the perimeter of the yard saving several feet for what would become a patio eventually. I was still left with several feet along the back fence which I had decided would be a vegetable garden. Needless to say everbody laughed. Why I do not know.....had I not planted the rose bushes?, they may not have been perfect but I didn't hear or see anyone else offering help so I did what had to be done. To put everyone out of their misery with curiosity, the rose bushes thrived and grew to about eight feet tall, the flowers were gorgeous but few but hey.....this is a first attempt.

Unfortunatly at some point during the first spring I was in that house, I got into a heated discussion with market gardener relative who was bewailing the fact that he absolutely couldn't get tomatoes or cucumbers to grow, he had tried for years to no avail. This is where I come in with my big mouth and said I bet you I can grow them here, you should have heard the laughter!!!!

I'll show them, but how? I had to do something quick now that I had put both feet in my mouth, my answer I bought a book and I followed directions and yes, we had tomatoes like crazy, cucumbers were a little less prolific but I had enough to give away.

Now after all the nonsense about "he wouldn't have believed it had he not seen it with his own eyes" I was still left with loads of green tomatoes. I didn't know what to do with them and green tomato chutney didn't sound appetizing and besides too much work.

That was then and how I wish I had this recipe then!!!! Of course my family would have turned up their noses at it but I didn't tell them until they had finished their seconds and licking the plates. So Here it is:

MUCH BETTER THAN APPLEPIE---GREEN TOMATO PIE

TRULY DELICIOUS

6 to 8 medium sized green tomatoes

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange rind

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon butter or margerine

Pastry for two crust 9-inch pie

Wash the tomatoes, peel and slice them. Combine with next four ingredients in saucepan and cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Mix sugar with cornstarch, add to the tomato mixture and cook until clear, stirring constantly. Add butter and cool slightly. Line piepan with pastry and pour in the mixture. Cover with pastry, seal edges and cut several gashes in top to allow steam to escape. Bake in preheated hot oven (425f) 40 to 50 minutes. Serve slightly warm or cool. Good with a dollop of whipped cream.

This is not recommended if you are trying to lose weight but for what it's worth it is really a great pie.

Until next time. Bye everybody.