Getty Stewart - Home Economist

Getty Stewart - Home Economist Become more confident using and enjoying whole, seasonal foods with helpful tips and tasty recipes from an experienced Professional Home Economist. How?

If you're tired of keeping up with the latest food fads, diets, superfoods, claims and deciphering ingredients in packaged foods, you've come to the right place. I want to help simplify food and how we feed ourselves. By helping you become more confident using and enjoying fresh, whole ingredients to make simple tasty dishes for everyday living. Hi, I’m Getty, a Professional Home Economist and Edu

cator with over 12 years experience sharing practical tips and recipes to make life easier. No matter where you're starting from, I'd want to help you move forward. Follow me here on Facebook or, if you want to get all my tips, recipes and information, subscribe to my email list via this link: https://bit.ly/3HUv9hJ

09/03/2026

How to know when hot peppers are ready to harvest

Colour is a strong ripeness indicator. Every pepper starts green and moves toward its own mature colour, whether that’s red, orange, yellow, or deep purple, depending on the variety.

Size is a general guideline, not a hard rule. Most hot peppers reach three to five inches at full size, but growing conditions can stunt them or let them grow bigger than normal. My smallest red jalapeño this year came in well under that range and was still perfectly ready to pick.

Those pale, thread-like lines on the skin are called corking. It happens when the pepper’s rapid growth slightly cracks the surface, and it’s a sign of maturity, not a problem.

A few other signs mean it’s time to pick, even if a pepper hasn’t fully ripened. A deep crack that opens into the flesh, pest damage, stress from extreme heat or weather, or a coming frost are all good reasons to harvest early rather than wait for perfect colour or size.

When in doubt, pick it. A firm pepper harvested a touch early beats one left too long to split, rot, or attract pests.

09/01/2026

Bumps on bell peppers don't tell you its gender (they don’t have one), sweetness or number of seeds. That 3-bumps-male, 4-bumps-female thing floating around online is a myth.

Another informative post thanks to a paid partnership with Canadian Food Focus and Love Food Hate Waste Canada / J’aime manger, pas gaspiller Canada.

Colour and variety is what actually predicts sweetness. Green peppers are picked earliest sometimes before their sugars fully develop, which is why they taste sharper. Some varieties change from green to yellow, then orange, then red, getting sweeter at every stage. So in theory, because red peppers stay on the plant the longest they are the sweetest. But of course growing conditions, sunlight, warmth and variety makes a difference.

So next time you're picking peppers, skip the bump count and go by colour instead.

All September, I'm covering how to pick, store, preserve, and cook with sweet and hot peppers.

Have any questions for me? Need me to explore any other questionable social media hacks?

Every gardener starts the season dreaming of a pristine, flawless tomato. The reality of a backyard harvest is a little ...
08/31/2026

Every gardener starts the season dreaming of a pristine, flawless tomato. The reality of a backyard harvest is a little different: a glorious, chaotic mix of shapes, sizes and quirks.

This year my tomatoes decided to get creative. One of them sprouted what can only be described as a literal nose (I named him Mr. Nosy, obviously). Another one has a strange yellow patch across the top that never turned red. A couple of them have deep, woody scars from a cold night back in spring, and one split right down the middle after a heavy rainstorm.

I even had a few uninvited guests along the way. A grasshopper decided one of my green tomatoes made a nice place to sit and a stink bug left behind some cloudy little spots on another.

Here is the good news: every single one of these odd looking tomatoes is completely safe to eat. Catfacing, cracking, yellow shoulders, even bug damage, it is all just cosmetic. Slice around the rough part and the rest is just as sweet as any picture perfect tomato from the store.

Honestly, I think the weird ones taste better anyway. Nature has a sense of humor, and mine clearly wanted to make me laugh this season.

Has your garden ever grown something this strange? Tell me about it in the comments.

08/27/2026

How to microwave corn on the cob with no prep and no silk left behind. Have you tried it?

Share this with a friend.

Several of you have asked if this microwave corn cooking hack actually works. Yes! My mother introduced me to it years ago and I’ve been using ever since!

Here’s how to do it:

Place the whole cob, husk on, no trimming needed in microwave.

Cook four minutes, rotating halfway.

Using oven mitts, transfer corn to cutting board and cut off bottom right where leaves meet the cob.

Hold the top end with the silk and squeeze out the cob.

The silk stays behind and cob slides out.

Enjoy.

For more details and timing for multiples visit gettystewart.com

08/25/2026

How to freeze tomatoes with very little prep. Ideal for ripe tomatoes for use in cooked dishes.

Share with friends who love tomatoes and hate waste.

This post is thanks to a paid partnership with Love Food Hate Waste Canada / J’aime manger, pas gaspiller Canada and Canadian Food Focus

Quick and Easy Steps:

1. Wash
2. Dry well
3. Remove core (or don’t - totally optional
4. Put in bag
5. Remove air and seal
6. Freeze
7. Use with 6 months

To use:

Whole Frozen: No need to thaw. Add tomatoes directly from freezer to pot. Use like whole canned tomatoes when there’s a long cooking time to break down tomatoes.

Pureed: Partially thaw tomatoes. Place in high speed blender and puree. Use when you want zero tomato pieces.

Diced: Partially thaw tomatoes until you can chop them to desired size. Use when cooking time is short.

To Peel: Peel while still frozen. Run or soak frozen tomatoes in hot water for a minute. The peel will slip off, especially if cored.

Can you freeze fresh tomato salsa or pico de gallo? 🍅 Not really - it turns mushy. If you want salsa you can freeze and ...
08/24/2026

Can you freeze fresh tomato salsa or pico de gallo?

🍅 Not really - it turns mushy. If you want salsa you can freeze and pull out as a dip all winter, you need a cooked recipe instead.

Here are my two go-to salsa recipes for Tomato Month:

🌿 Fresh Pico de Gallo: chop, stir, scoop, done. Ripe tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, sweet and/or hot peppers, spices and fresh lime juice. No cooking required, ready in minutes. Just don't freeze it - it won't hold up. Recipe: https://www.gettystewart.com/fresh-tomato-salsa-or-pico-de-gallo/

❄️ Freezer Salsa: this one's built to last all winter. Cooking the tomatoes down first is the key to keeping the flavour and texture after thawing. It's also easier and more flexible than canning - no strict acidity rules, so you can add whatever you like, even corn or beans. Recipe: https://www.gettystewart.com/how-to-make-freezer-salsa-tomatoes/

Tip for avoiding runny freezer salsa: cook it down, use the right tomato variety, add a bit of tomato paste, and drain surface moisture after thawing before stirring.

Are you team Pico de Gallo, Freezer Salsa, or making both? Find both recipes at gettystewart.com and follow along for more tomato inspiration all month. 🍅

08/18/2026

How to store tomatoes so they last.

This post is sponsored by Canadian Food Focus and Love Food Hate Waste Canada / J’aime manger, pas gaspiller Canada because they love tomatoes as much as we do!

Counter or fridge? Both, depending on timing.

Store tomatoes at room temp, out of direct sunlight until completely ripe.

Once they’re ripe and start to get soft, wither or attract fruit flies, move them to the fridge so you have more time to use them and are less likely to toss them. A smart move considering Canadians toss 1.3 million tomatoes every day!

Bring refrigerated tomatoes back to room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes before eating for the best flavour. The longer they stay in the fridge, the more likely you’ll notice some texture changes, so only buy what you need for 5-7 days.

08/17/2026

Do you have stink bugs in your tomatoes ?

Stink bugs damage tomatoes leaving white, dried out splotches on the inside. Safe to eat, but not very nice.

They’re hard to beat, but here are some things you can do:
-Keep plants well pruned
-Pick off any bugs you see
-Spray plants with water hose
-Harvest tomatoes early since they prefer riper tomatoes

What’s your go to strategy?

Share this info with other tomato growers.

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