Introducing "The Veggie Queen"

Ripe Tomatoes Equal Summer by Jill Nussinow, MS, RD, The Veggie Queen™

 

“Tomatoes taste like summer. I love them in black bean salad, salsa, Greek salad and by themselves, drizzled with balsamic vinegar,” says Registered Dietitian and life coach (Healthy Habits Coach.com) Kathy Nichols of Healdsburg.

 

While other summer vegetables have appeal, none have the sweetness or juiciness of a tomato, and that’s because they truly are a fruit. Thomas Jefferson was one of the first Americans to grow tomatoes, which were called "love apples".  While tomatoes have an interesting history, rather than focus on the past, let’s deal with the present. Tomatoes are a true summer gift.

If you didn’t plant tomatoes this year, the best way to find ripe ones is at the farmer’s market, a local farm or a farm stand near you. Supermarket tomatoes cannot compare, often because they’ve been refrigerated. Tomatoes benefit from gentle handling and are easily bruised once ripe. Store firm, ripe, fresh tomatoes on the countertop for a few days.  Once cut, turn them cut side down on a plate or cutting board and use quickly. You can refrigerate them, if you must but the flavor will not be as vibrant.

Nothing beats picking a tomato off the vine, taking a sweet bite, and having the warm juices run down your arm. Of course, if your favorite tomatoes are cherry tomatoes, you can easily just pop them into your mouth, like candy because they taste that sweet.

Tomatoes come in many varieties, including cherry tomatoes, divided into 2 categories, higher acid and candy sweet. My son loved supersweet sungolds so much that I had to buy 2 baskets – one to eat onsite and one for home. Eventually to save time and money, I grew my own.

If you also love tomatoes, consider planting a tomato or two, late next spring—all you need is a large pot, hanging basket or half barrel in the sun -- no land necessary.  You can get tiny cherry tomatoes such as sweet 100s, pear-shaped red or yellow, orange sungolds, small green grape or larger cherry tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes produce prolifically and you’ll be able to pick almost daily when they’re in full fruit.

The larger tomatoes come in such varied shapes, colors and sizes, that it’s hard for me to decide which ones I like best. When choosing plants, I often head to the more exotic heirloom varieties and often overlook planting just one red, round tomato. That’s the case this year, too.

Favorites on my list are Green Zebra (a medium sized green striped tomato), Cherokee (last year chocolate was my favorite which is a deep red-brown but this year it’s just red), Brandywine, San Marzano (a paste type), Black Russian (a plum tomato) or Black krim, Flamme (medium orange) to name just a few. Peruse tomatoes at the farmer’s market this year, and taste many to see which ones you like. Various farmer’s markets often hold tomato tastings just for that purpose.

Most tomato lovers prefer their tomatoes neat – as in sliced with a sprinkle of coarse salt, a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar and a garnish of basil, or as the star in a tomato sandwich. I agree that mucking them up with too many other ingredients detracts from what makes a summer-ripe tomato special. Occasionally, especially with the heirloom varieties the tomatoes are misshapen and or have other imperfections which makes them candidates for salads or sauce, where their gorgeous colors, shapes and textures are not as important.

Nutritionally, tomatoes are packed with Vitamin C and contain plenty of fiber while low in calories. Vine-ripened, more deeply colored tomatoes contain more lycopene, which is the potent antioxidant in tomatoes that may help prevent certain types of cancer. Lycopene is used more easily by your body when it is cooked so don’t hesitate to cook your tomatoes as well as eating them raw.

Here’s a simple recipe for tomatoes that lets them shine.

Slow Roasted Tomatoes with Olive Oil, Herbs and Garlic

Make as many as you like while you have the oven on. I usually do 2 baking sheets at a time, using a few pounds of tomatoes. Cherry or Roma tomatoes work best for this.

1 head of garlic, cloves separated but not peeled

2-3+ tablespoons olive oil

Basil, oregano or other fresh chopped herbs

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 225°F. Halve cherry tomatoes crosswise, or Roma tomatoes lengthwise and arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet along with the cloves of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, just enough to make the tomatoes glisten. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake the tomatoes in the oven for at least three hours. You want the tomatoes to be shriveled and dry, but with a little juice left inside–this could take more or less time depending on the size of your tomatoes. About 2 ½ hours into baking, sprinkle on fresh herbs, including basil, thyme or oregano and some chopped garlic. You can continue baking the tomatoes until they are the desired consistency, up to 8 or more hours.

Either use them right away or let them cool, cover them with some extra olive oil and keep them in the fridge for the best summer condiment, ever. You can also freeze these for the winter when there are no tomatoes around. They are a delicious addition to pasta dishes, cold grain salads or just for snacking.

BYLINE: Jill Nussinow, MS, RD is a Registered Dietitian, stars in the DVD Pressure Cooking: A Fresh Look, Delicious Dishes in Minutes, and is the author of The Veggie Queen: Vegetables Get the Royal Treatment. You can see more of what she does at her websites: http://www.theveggiequeen.com and http://www.pressurecookingonline.com and her blogs: http://www.theveggiequeen.blogspot.com and http://www.pressurecooking.blogspot.com. Look for her writing monthly in this newsletter.

Comments

[Tom Wagner]

I created the Green Zebra over thirty six years ago and nearly all of those other favorite tomato varieties of yours are now bred into Green Zebra progenies.

Some hybrids such as Black Pineapple crossed to Green Zebra are super in their own right as fruits but the F-2 generations are even better. The three way crosses of (Black Pineapple X Green Zebra) X Vintage Wine produces a wide and rich array of colors and flavors.

Next year I will have some Blue Zebra tomatoes to show and tell about.

Tom Wagner