Green Tomato and Beef Chili Recipe

At least my ‘lil one will have her witch costume covered only by a coat and not a snowsuit this Halloween. The smartest costume I saw last year was the neighbor girl dressed as a snowmobiler… practical… although it would’ve been much more clever if she had thought to tell people she was Todd Palin.

Anyhoo, I think my gardening days are doneskies.

I pulled up all my glorious tomato plants and gathered what green tomatoes were left, turns out quite a few. There is probably a reason no one else grows heirloom tomatoes up here, they grow too slow or need many more hot days than is possible this far north.

I’m not going to start admitting now that my all organic, sustainable, urban gardener ways may have been slightly misguided. I did too much scoffing at everyone else’s puny tomato plants this summer to acknowledge the fact that their tomatoes actually ripened, while most of mine did not.

Nonetheless, I’ve got buckets of green tomatoes on my hands and am rapidly thinking of ways to use them. I’ve deduced that anywhere a tomatillo would work, so would a green tomato. They have a similar texture and tartness. What better to cut through the spice and beefy-richness of chili than some sharp green tomatoes?

Oh yeah, add some aged sharp cheddar on top. Washing this down with a Fanta never hurt either.