Tomato relish in the crock pot

I’m not much of a sauce/relish type girl. I like my food plain, usually saltless and sugarless from years of food rules in my head commanding what I could and could not eat. I’m even offended when gravy intrudes upon my perfect virgin mashed potatoes. My mother likes to say I simply have no taste buds, personally I think they seem to only respond to sugar. But when you’re cooking for someone else AND that someone is a spice lover….it’s a real game changer. I made this when a creative front blew through while trying to get rid of overripe tomatoes. I topped my Jack and the beanstalk black eye pea concoction with juicy relish over pine nut-brown rice; each part cooked separately in the crock pot. It was a crock pot kind of day…

Cooks 10 hours, depending on crock pot. Makes close to 3 cups.

What you’ll need: 

6 to 7 medium tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
1 Vidalia onion
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 tablespoon dried thyme flakes
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
How to cook it: 

1. Chop tomatoes and onion. Mince garlic.
2. Combine all ingredients, stir and cover.
3. Cook on Low 10 hours or until thick.

End Result:
I’ll be honest. My taste buds weren’t jumping for joy. (But keep in mind what my mom said.) I didn’t like it plain, over rice, not even over my Jack and the Beanstalk black-eye pea concoction. But I’m not crazy about spicy, and I don’t like the taste of fennel seeds. Of course, the spice lover in the house said it tasted just fine. “That’s what relish is supposed to taste like,” he said. Sure, it was” tomatoey” but all I could taste were the spices, that darn fennel. Maybe you have a better way of making relish? Let me hear it! I’m all ears. A true cook can taste it and tell you what’s lacking or overspiced, but when you’re lacking in taste buds…well… 🙂

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