Who wouldn’t want tomato bread?

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, September 21, 2006

Yoo hoo, Nancy Thurmond of Everett: Forum gardeners would dearly love to take you up on your offer to share your recipe for green tomato bread.

If you can shoot it along to me, we’ll get it into print just as quick as can be. Please write to Judyrae Kruse at the Forum, c/o The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.

And, if anybody else has something they’d like to share or request, you know the Forum is always happy to hear from you. But please remember that all letters and all e-mail must include a name, complete address with ZIP code and telephone number with area code. No exceptions and sorry, but no response to e-mail by return e-mail; send to kruse@heraldnet.com.

Now, Teresa Courtney: If you’ll get in touch me with at the above address, and supply a mailing address with ZIP code, the recipe your mother-in-law needs will be on the way to you shortly.

That said, longtime Forum helper-outer Arlene Wingender of Edmonds says it’s time to make zucchini relish. “I sent this recipe in years ago, in 1979,” she writes, “and thought maybe some of your readers haven’t seen it before. I have since developed an allergy to onions, so I now use carrots instead of onions.

“I use this relish in salad dressing with ketchup to make 1,000-island dressing, in salad dressing to make tarter sauce, with meatloaf, with fish and, my favorite, on a peanut butter sandwich. It’s also a good way to use the big ones that get overlooked in the garden.”

Uncle John’s zucchini relish

10cups ground unpeeled zucchini

5cups ground onions (or carrots)

2green bell peppers, ground

2red bell peppers, ground

1/3cup pickling salt

1teaspoon each turmeric and ground allspice

3tablespoons cornstarch

1teaspoon celery seed

2tablespoons dried basil leaves

1/2teaspoon pepper

21/2cups white distilled vinegar

41/2cups sugar

In a plastic dishpan, mix the zucchini, onions or carrots and bell peppers with pickling salt and let stand overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, drain and rinse with cold water, then drain again. Turn into large heavy kettle or saucepan and stir in turmeric, allspice, cornstarch, celery seed, basil leaves, pepper, vinegar and sugar, mixing thoroughly. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 to 30 minutes to thicken, stirring frequently to keep from scorching. Ladle into suitable containers, let cool, then cap and freeze.

The next Forum will appear in Monday’s Time Out section.