Hot Pickled Green Beans, Green Tomato Pie

You know guys, I had put up a recipe not long back that was a Green Tomato # Cake. I haven’t tried this, but I think it would be really good. But, like Deb says…you call it food, Dub calls it good! Well, in that regard, what can I say, she’s right! My Mama told me of a Green Tomato Pie, and she and my sister Marie, both said they’d tried one and it was absolutely delicious. So, I asked our readers if any had a recipe for this.

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Well, I believe it was the next day, we had a reader that shared one with us. Beings I have a ton of green tomatoes at the moment, I’ll be trying me one before the week is out. Once I do, I’ll share my thoughts with you on this. I can’t wait! This recipe came from Steven, or at least Steven supplied us with a link for this recipe, which I’ll share with you all in just a minute. First I’d like to share that upon seeing the link, then clicking on it, I kept seeing and reading about some dern woman named Paula Dean?? Have you guys EVER heard of this lady?? I asked Deb if she’d ever heard of a lady named Paula Dean and she just said, “Are you stupid, Dub?” I figured I just might want to do a little readin’ up on this Paula Dean lady. The first thing I noticed was what a beautiful smile this lady has. Number two…ANYBODY that talks to you and says, “Hey Ya’ll,” is good enough for me. Thirdly, I see she has two sons who I just imagine love their Mama to death, so I definitely don’t want on her bad side for sure! That said…we love you Paula!! No seriously, Deb and I both have watched her for a number of years, on and off, and really enjoy her show, AND her recipes. She’s very entertaining and a hoot just to listen to. I hope she doesn’t mind, but this is her Green Tomato Pie recipe, via Steven. (Link supplied Miss Paula!!) Thank you Steven, and Miss Dean! Green Tomato Pie: Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup butter-flavored shortening (recommended: Crisco)
• 1/2 cup cold water

Filling:

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 5 green tomatoes, or enough to fill pie crust, thinly sliced

Glaze:

• 1 slightly beaten egg white
• Sugar, for sprinkling

Directions For the crust: Sift together flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder into a bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture with a pastry cutter or fork until mixture resembles cornmeal. Stir in 1/4 cup of the cold water, then add remaining 1/4 cup and mix until combined. Cover dough and allow it to rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Divide dough in half. Place on lightly floured board and pat out. Using a rolling pin, roll out 1 piece of dough to the size of a 9-inch pie pan. Put crust in pan and trim off excess dough around the edge. Roll out second ball of dough for pie crust top. For the filling: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix sugar, tapioca, zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and raisins in a large bowl. Lay tomato slices in pie crust. Sprinkle mixture over tomatoes. (Overlapping will occur but tomatoes will shrink in size when baked.) Gently lay top pie crust over filling, tucking in the extra crust around the edges. Pinch dough with fingers or butter knife to seal edges. Using a knife, make 4 to 6 slits in top of crust to allow steam to escape. Brush top with egg white and sprinkle with a little sugar to give your crust a shine. Place pie in the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F. and continue to bake for 20 more minutes. Cool on wire rack. *Cook's Note: If your pie looks ready to "spew out," open oven door for about 2 minutes.

Hot Pickled Green Beans:

Our second recipe is one I’d never heard of. Pickled, squash, okra, onions, beets, etc., I’d heard of before. As you know our daughter-in-law Shelly Mae, turned Deb and I onto Fried Green Beans, and I have to admit I’d never even heard of them before. Also if you noticed I used the term, turned Deb and I onto…so you see, though in our mid-fifties, I consider us still…“pretty hip.” But this is a recipe for Pickled Green Beans?? Our string beans are coming on pretty strong now, with little beans already forming on the bush, so here directly I’ll be giving this a whirl too! Hot Pickled Green Beans: **This is a canning recipe…hot water bath in pint Mason jars

• 4 lbs. green beans
• 5 cups white vinegar
• 5 cups water
• ½ cup pickling salt
• ½ teaspoon dill seeds per jar
• 1 clove garlic per jar
• ½ teaspoon whole mustard seeds per jar
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper per jar

Wash beans, and cut to fit in jars. Combine vinegar, water and salt and bring this to a boil. Into each clean, hot pint jar, place ½ teaspoon dill seeds, one clove of garlic, ½ teaspoon mustard seeds, and ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper. Fill with beans. Pour hot brine over beans leaving 1/2 inch head space. Put on seals and rings. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Allow your product to sit for a minimum of 4 weeks to ensure full flavor.