Weekend Wokking Vinegar!

It's time for the Weekend Wokking round-up and we're showcasing vinegar! It was awesome to receive such a variety of submissions using the theme ingredient. Thanks to all for participating and let's get started!

Pork Adobo submitted by Javaholic. Pork fans, rejoice! Pork simmered in a sauce of coconut vinegar, soy and fish sauces and a healthy amount of garlic. Drooooool!

Balsamic Roasted Potato Wedges submitted by TastyCurryLeaf. Need zing? A splash or two of balsamic added at the end roasting is a nice way to dress up humble potato wedges.

Goi Mit Non tom Thit Heo (Vietnamese Green Jackfruit Salad with Shrimp and Pork) submitted by Wandering Chopsticks. Never tried green jackfruit? Well here's your chance! It's tossed with shrimp, pork and a Vietnamese dipping sauce or fermented anchovy sauce.

Fagiolini aglio e aceto (French beans with garlic and vinegar) submitted by Urban Bites. A simple and delicious way to enjoy your green beans.

Mini Pavlovas submitted by MomGateway. What's better than this light and airy meringue dessert? How about the cute and elegant mini version!

Pig's trotters with ginger and vinegar submitted by Kits Chow. There are very few things better than slow cooked pork, especially trotters and hocks. These trotters are simmered in a slow cooker with black rice vinegar and brown sugar. I can only imagine how divine this tastes ladled over steamed rice.

Pickled green purslane submitted by Erbe in Cucina. Okay, I admit I'm ignorant when it comes to purslane but I do love all things pickled. Now I've got my eye out for it.

Tomato Jam submitted by me. Okay, nine tomato plants may have been overkill, but at least I found a delicious way to use up all those pounds of tomatoes I harvested this summer.

Thanks again to all who submitted! For the next theme ingredient, let's do cabbage. Oh, I know you're as excited as I am! If you're itching to join in, read over the rules then send your submissions to Graziana of Erbe in Cucina at scrivi(at)ilmeglioincucina(dot)it by 11:59 PM, Sunday, November 1st.

A Happy Dilemma

Every year, come the end of summer, I'm swimming in tomatoes. This year I'm literally drowning. I planted about 9 starts and all of them have been producing beautifully. I've been harvesting the Sungold cherry tomatoes since about mid-July. The yellow pears were ready a couple of weeks after that. In the last 3 weeks, I've been getting a steady supply of the larger tomatoes. To put it all into perspective, during the peak I harvested over 6 pounds of the various cherry tomatoes and 8 lbs of the larger varieties...in one day. No kidding. Thank goodness it appears to be tapering off.

Thanks again to my awesome FIL, who built me another planter box, effectively doubling my garden to a whopping 36 sqft. Who says you need a lot of space to have a productive garden?

I'm sure I'll be jonesing for a decent tomato in February, but right now if I have to eat one more fresh tomato, I might die. Okay, not really. Rather than let all the tomatoes sit and rot on my countertop (yes, I tried to give some away, but my neighbors are in the same boat), I canned a big batch of tomato chutney. Actually this was the second batch. The first batch went straight into the freezer because I couldn't be bothered to bust out the canning paraphernalia.

Making a tomato chutney isn't hard, but it does require some babysitting. I simply took my 6+ pounds of cherry tomatoes and put them in a pot with 1 cup rice vinegar (regular white vinegar is also fine), 1 cup granulated sugar and salt to taste (optional if you're watching your salt intake). Then I just let it all reduce over medium heat. This took a long time...like 2 hours because the tomatoes have so much liquid that has to be cooked off. I stirred it occasionally at first then frequently toward the end to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. The 6+ pounds of tomatoes gave me 4+ cups of chutney, which I canned in 8 x 125ml jars (processed for 15 minutes using boiling water canner).

A couple of tips: As it's cooking down, taste it and add more sugar if you find it's not sweet enough. I always end up doing this. You can also add spices. I added copious fresh ginger to the first batch and it was fantastic, tangy and slightly spicy.

Chutneys aren't just meant to accompany Indian food. There are limitless ways to enjoy this one. My favorite is atop a nice sharp cheese with crusty bread. Or served with a grilled cheese sandwich. Or how about on a bacon and lettuce sandwich for an nontraditional but delicious BLT. I also like it mixed in with hummus and eaten with pita chips. You may also try adding fresh herbs, such as finely chopped mint, coriander and/or chilies before serving. Of course chutneys are good accompaniments to meat dishes and this one is good for everything from a roasted chicken to roasted lamb.

This is my entry for Weekend Wokking. This round we're celebrating vinegar and I'm the host! If you want to participate, send your entry to me at blazinghotwok(at)gmail(dot)com by Oct 4th.