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Discover Tomato
Possibilities
Perhaps no other vegetables,
with the possible exception of
sweet com, highlights the sum
mer dinner table like farm-fresh
tomatoes.
Despite the industry’s best ef
forts, nothing can compare to a
tomato that is ripened on the
vine.
According to the Pennsylvania
Vegetable Marketing and Re
search Program, tomatoes are a
member of the nightshade family
along with potatoes, peppers, and
eggplant. Europeans considered
the tomato fruit poisonous when
Spanish explorers brought the
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fore the publishing date listed below.
Send your recipes to Lou Ann Good, Lancaster Farming, P.O.
Box 609, Ephrata, PA 17522.
August
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September
1 Shrimp Fest
8 Recipes With Pimentos
If you don’t have tomatoes in your garden, buy them at
a roadside farm market or community farmers’s market.
plants back to Europe from
South America, and grew it as an
ornamental houseplant.
It wasn’t until the 19th century
that the tomato began gaining ac
ceptance as a food. Initially, both
Europeans and Americans were
carefril to cook tomatoes for
hours to neutralize “poisons.” Fi
nally in the last half of the 19th
century, people realized the to
mato was safe and delicious to
eat raw or lightly cooked.
Tomatoes are almost consid
ered a staple in the American diet
because they combine so easily
with so many different foods
such as pasta, rice, poultry, and
fish as well as other vegetables.
Tomatoes picked before they
are fully ripe can develop an ap
petizing flavor and texture if two
basic conditions are met. First,
the tomatoes must not be refrig
erated. They should be stored at
room temperature or at least 55
degrees. Unripe tomatoes that
have been subjected to tempera
tures below this level will never
ripen satisfactorily.
Food and medical authorities
recommend eating three to five
servings of vegetables each day.
Fresh tomatoes provide an excel
lent source of vitamins and min
erals. In fact, one medium toma
to supplies more than 40 percent
of the daily allowance of vitamin
C and 20 percent of vitamin A
plus potassium all with only 35
calories.
Here are some recipes.
MOTHER-IN-LAW’S
DELICIOUS KETCHUP
2 gallons uncooked tomato
chunks
2 onions
Boil together tomato chunks
and onions. Put through tomato
strainer. Add:
5 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
2 cups vinegar
Boil one hour, add;
6 cups sugar
7 tablespoons Clear Jel
Boil mixture an additional
hour. Fill pint jars, adjust lid,
and process 15 minutes in boiling
water bath.
TOMATO COCKTAIL
6 quarts tomato juice
2 teaspoons onion salt
2 teaspoons celery salt
2 teaspoons garlic salt
Pepper to taste
IV2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons salt
Wash, cut, boil, and put
through sieve (about 1 peck to
matoes, enough to make 6 quarts
juice. Add remaining ingredients
and bring to a boil, put in jars
and process for 5 minutes. If you
don’t like garlic, omit garlic salt.
This makes a great tasting
juice and is good for chili or
any tomato dish. / use for to
mato soup too.
Esther Mishler
Hollsopple
TOMATO AND
CHEESE SALAD
10-inch dinner plate
12 slices tomatoes
12 slices fresh
cheese
Red wine vinegar
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
lettuce leaves
Oregano
Line dinner plate with tomato
slices, top with cheese. Drizzle oil
and vinegar over plate and salt
and pepper to taste. May arrange
over lettuce leaves if desired.
Drizzle oregano sparingly over
top of cheese when ready to
serve. Wonderful with crusty
bread and sufficient for a lunch.
Yields 3-4 servings.
Babe Hopkins
Avondale
Pennsylvania’s fresh market tomato crop is grown on
4,000 acres. Another 1,400 acres are used to grow toma
toes for food processors.
STUFFED TOMATO
1 tomato
Tuna or egg salad (your favor
ite recipe)
Lettuce leaves
Sprig parsley
Line plate with lettuce leaves.
Core tomato and leave about
one-inch pulp around tomato.
Turn tomato over to drain juice.
When drained, stuff with your fa
vorite tuna or egg salad and gar
nish with a sprig of parsley. Be
fore filling tomato, take a knife
and make an X into the tomato
about halfway down so it opens
into four quarters stuff. Ingre
dient amounts depend on size of
tomato.
Variation: This same process
can be used for cherry tomatoes
and served as an appetizer. Don’t
cut the X on the cherry toma
toes —they’re too small.
Babe Hopkins
Avondale
HERB TOMATOES
3 large ripe tomatoes (peeled if
desired)
'A cup flour
4 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons light brown
sugar or honey
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tar
ragon or parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh
Almeda Fox
Leola
chives
Vi teaspoon chopped fresh
thyme
Salsa is the Mexican word for sauce, which can mean cooked
or fresh mixtures. In recent years, the availability and variety of
salsa has exploded in the U.S. Varieties range from mild spic
iness to mouth-searing hot.
Salsas are a great way to liven up grilled meats, seafoods, and
a variety of other dishes. But the most popular is probably as a
dip using tortilla chips.
Serve fresh salsa within a few hours of preparation. If it sits
too long, the acidic ingredients will cook the salsa and ruin its
texture. Raw ingredients such as raw garlic, onion, and chilies
will oxidize making the flavors sharp. Allow to stand 15-20 min
utes before serving for flavors to mingle. Serve at room tempera
ture or slightly chilled.
mozzarella
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate
for a few hours to blend flavors. Makes 3 cups.
BETTY’S BOILED
Featured Recipe
Here is an easy recipe to make use of tomatoes in season.
TOMATO SALSA
2 cups diced plum tomatoes
Vi cup chopped onion
Vi cup diced yellow or green bell pepper
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, veined, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
Vi teaspoon cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
Ground peppercorns for top
ping
Cut tomatoes in half horizon
tally. Place flour in shallow bowl
and roll each half of tomato, fully
coating each. Dip in melted but
ter. Place in baking dish and
sprinkle the brown sugar or drib
ble the honey over tomatoes. Add
herbs, salt, and pepper. Broil
until golden brown, approxi
mately five minutes, and serve
immediately. Do not overcook.
Serves 4-6.
Betty Groff
TOMATO CASSEROLE
4 slices bacon, cut into small
pieces
'A cup chopped onion
2 cups fresh, ripe tomatoes
2 cups bread cubes or croutons
'A cup light brown sugar
'A teaspoon salt
1 hard-boiled egg, peeled
Garnish with tomato slices,
croutons or herbs
In a heavy skillet, fry the
bacon and onion until golden
brown. Add tomatoes, bread
cubes, sugar, and salt. Blend and
pour into a buttered 2-quart bak
ing dish. Bake in preheated 350
degree oven for 30 minutes. Re
move and top with sliced egg.
Garnish as desired. (Add grated
cheese before serving as a differ
ent touch).