Green tomato and radish salad...

I am a bit of a renegade, i suppose. Why? because I plant a garden in the winter—and I plant tomatoes, a non-winter vegetable at that. But in my defense, our winters are barely what others call summer, so each year, I risk it. Now, I live in Arizona, so a winter garden is not so unusual I guess. And for my 30+ winters gardening in Arizona, only three of them (that I can remember) has had freezing temperatures...the last three. That means, emptying my linen closet (and nearly having to strip all the beds) to tromp out in 32-degrees and cover, even double-cover mind you, all my pot and plots. It is a lot of work, and sadly, my tomatoes never survive, no matter how well I tuck them into my pretty little bed sheets.

I had nearly 30 green tomatoes on the vine! That is the risk I take, I suppose, with winter gardening, even in sunny AZ. So when freezing Arizona winters give me an abundance of green tomatoes, I make salad.
Here it is:

Green Tomato and Radish Salad

• 2 small or 1 medium green tomatoes, firm ones
• 4-6 radishes
• Juice and zest of 1 tangerine, or ½ of a small orange
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbs rice vinegar
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 pinches of kosher salt to season
• Cilantro to garnish

Slice the radish and tomatoes on a mandolin on the thinnest setting, or slice as thin as you can with a knife. Toss in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Let sit for 10 minutes. Serve.
Note: if you don’t like radish, use celery or even all tomato.