Using What We Have, Dealing with Compost, and Spicy Piccallili

Over the weekend, I realized I still had quite a bit of produce from the Enright CSA in my crisper drawers. I made a list—turnips, burdock, potatoes, sweet potatoes, a little garlic, pumpkins, winter squash, hot peppers, pears, leeks, sweet peppers, green tomatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, celeriac, maybe a few other things that I should have used by now but still looked like they were in decent shape.

But I decided that something needed to be done. I improvised a goat cheese and leek tart with Jerusalem artichokes and mushrooms for dinner—it was delicious, I might add—and though I didn’t have enough pears to make pear butter this year, I remembered that they cooked nicely in the crockpot and made the whole house smell wonderful, so I threw them in the slow cooker, and a few hours later, served the stewed pears over custard for a delicious dessert. And I ate the leftover cooked pears for breakfast the next morning.

Then I took a mess of peppers, the green tomatoes, and a few tomatillas that had been forgotten but still looked perfectly serviceable, and I chopped them all up with an onion. I believe it would be called green tomato salsa these days, but in the olden days that my recipe came from (which I adapted a bit), it was called piccallili. I let it ripen overnight, salted and in the fridge, and will add the vinegar and process it in canning jars today to enjoy this winter when there are no shares of fresh produce coming in every week.

I had a lot of stuff for the compost pile when I was finished, and I knew it needed turning and there was some nice topsoil at the bottom ready to be harvested. That was a warm and messy job on a nice Sunday afternoon, and the dog helped. Not. But it’s done now, and the list of what I still have left to use is a little shorter. Word is there will be a limited pickup this Saturday, November 10—look for more details in an email to come. So I’d better get started thinking about ways to prepare some of the produce I still have in those crisper drawers.

I’m thinking pumpkin ravioli, maybe stuffed peppers, mashed turnips, baked sweet potatoes—not all at once, but over the next few days. If anyone has some brilliant ideas about how to use the burdock and celeriac, I’m interested in hearing about them. Leave a comment or send an email note (farm@pricehill.org).

Spicy Piccallili*
3 lbs. green tomatoes
3 or 4 (depending on size) green/yellow/white sweet peppers
4 jalapeno peppers
1 large onion
3 Tbsps. salt
1 pint cider vinegar
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. peppercorns
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. mustard seed
4 whole cloves

Chop the vegetables (chop the jalapenos very fine) and spread in a pan in layers, salting each layer. Cover and refrigerate overnight (at least 12 hours). Then drain well; press to get out additional liquid.

Heat the vinegar in a large pot and add the sugar and spices, then add the chopped vegetables. Bring to boiling point and simmer for about 5 minutes or so. Pack hot mixture in sterilized canning jars and seal. Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes. Makes about 3 pints.

*Adapted from a recipe that calls for a peck, or 12 pounds, of green tomatoes.