Rain is coming down, heaters are turned on, and hopefully you've got someone warm with whom to cuddle. As for my waning tomato plants, I find I'm stuck with a couple stragglers; green tomatoes whose fate is undetermined. The likelihood of these guys reaching their prime lusty red on the vine is low. So, I consulted a couple sources and learned about alternatives to ripening on the windowsill (which is not always guaranteed to expedite the process). I found that placing unripe tomatoes in a box along with other fruit is a proven method to help the fruit make its color transition. In this instance since I had just a couple small Early Girl tomatoes, I used a shoebox. I lined the bottom of the box with crumpled up newspaper, then placed the tomatoes alongside half-ripened thick-skinned fruits from my garden (grapefruit, lemons, peppers). I closed the box and let these guys hang out on my kitchen counter at a desirable 70 degrees F, checking the box every couple days to make sure nothing was going bad and no fruit flies are accidentally trapped in there (cause you know that's not a good scenario, haha). So, after about a week, voila!....tomatoes were shiny red and ready to eat!
Tasty Tip: Take your ripened tomatoes, chop them along with a couple Persian cucumbers, add cubed feta cheese, black kalamata olives, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. If you got some chopped fresh mint, basil or oregano, add those. If not, get yourself a nice dried herb mix(I personally love the versatile "Herbes de Provence"). If you have them, add some chopped walnuts to the mix for that extra satiety factor, and there you have a tangy, delicious Greek salad. You got your protein, your calcium, your vitamins, and overall a low-carb, highly filling salad. Very tasty!
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