Green Tomato Pie

Summer has turned to autumn. The days are getting shorter, and the tomato plants outside in the garden have stopped flowering. The remaining fruit is not ripening. So the plants have been cut down.

But what to do with all the unripe green tomatoes?

Previously, I have used these up in batches of Green Tomato Chutney.

But I have heard rumours that green tomatoes can be cooked much like apples into pies and cakes.

Google yielded this recipe. I made a few tweaks.

Date and Walnut Loaf

A dense fruity date and walnut loaf.

Perfect as a less-sweet alternative to biscuits or cake. You could even have a slice as a quick breakfast if you've not got time to grab anything else.

In fact it's so popular that someone managed to scarf down half the loaf before I got round to photographing it!

Mincemeat

I have an aversion to citrus - specifically orange peel. So I have never really eaten things that have candied peel in - which includes many traditional Xmas cakes.

However, one Xmas when I was growing up, Sainsburys decided to stock citrus (peel)-free mince pies. They tasted great - but they didn't stock them again, ever.

So, if I want to have mince pies for Xmas that I can eat, then I need to make my own mincemeat. Which means that I need to get round to making it in September to give time for the flavour to mature.

Fortunately, mincemeat is so easy that it really barely counts as cooking!