Sherrie Norris Lovin’ Spoonful Cooking Column: Tomato Growing Season Coming to A Close

By Sherrie Norris

Nothing makes me miss a garden any more so than the immediate gratification of pulling a big, red, juicy ripened tomato from the vine.

Unless, of course, it’s walking straight into the kitchen, slicing that gem onto a couple pieces of white bread slathered with Dukes mayo. Talk about one of summer’s greatest moments! Wow. Many of you know just what I’m talking about.

But, then again, if you have great friends and neighbors like we do, you can still enjoy part of that process — and we have done just that, over and over again. In fact, we’re still enjoying the fruits of their labor, but we’ve been warned: The end is near.

Just this week, as we had tomatoes for breakfast, lunch and supper, I commented to my husband that we would surely recall that day in the middle of January when not a vine-ripened High Country tomato could be found outside of a can or a jar.

Few food items ever attract the attention of the Supreme Court, but that’s exactly what happened over a century ago, when in 1893 the Supreme Court ruled that tomatoes are indeed vegetables, rather than fruit, as was debated for many years. 

There are literally hundreds of varieties of tomatoes, and they are the third most widely consumed vegetable in the United States, lagging close behind potatoes and lettuce. It is estimated that more than 85 percent of gardeners plant tomatoes, which are considered a staple of most kitchens, invaluable both fresh and yes, preserved.

Whether you eat them in a sandwich, in a salad, stuffed, fried, or stewed, vine-ripened tomatoes are delicious, anyway you slice them.

And, they are very nutritious. One medium-sized tomato contributes 40 percent of the recommended daily allowance of Vitamin C, 20 percent of the required Vitamin A, some of which is in the form of beta-carotene, associated with a reduced risk of cancer. Tomatoes are also a good source of potassium, iron and phosphates and Vitamin B and fiber. They are also low in calories, sodium, no fat or cholesterol. 

Could we say a tomato is the perfect food?

Simple Tomato Casserole

2 large tomatoes, sliced about ½-inch thick

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

4-oz. Chedder cheese, shredded

1 cup corn flakes

Arrange half the tomato slices in the bottom of a buttered baking dish. Top with half each of the onion, cheese and cornflakes. Repeat layers. Bake in oven at 350 for 30 minutes.

Baked Tomato Halves

6 tomatoes

¼ cup chopped onion

4 Tbsp. butter

1 cup bread crumbs

4 Tbsp. chopped parsley

½ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

Cut stem end out of tomatoes. Cut tomatoes in halves, taking out part of pulp, and place in shallow baking dish. Cook onion in butter until soft. Add remaining ingredients and toss. Stuff mixture in tomato halves. Bake at 400 for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Old Fashioned Tomato Jam

6 cups ripe tomatoes

6 cups sugar

1 tsp. ginger

¼ cup lemon juice

2 tsp. lemon rind

Pour boiling water over tomatoes, then dip them into cold water to loosen the peels. Peel and seed the tomatoes and cut them into chunks. Place them in a large pot and add the sugar, ginger, lemon juice and lemon rind. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, then turn the heat up and let the tomatoes come to a rolling boil; turn the heat back down  and let simmer for 45 minutes, stirring often so the tomatoes will not stick. Store in sterile pint jars. (This recipe only makes a small amount – you will want to double it, at least.)

Simple Salsa In A Can

8 cups tomatoes, peeled and chopped

3 cups onions, chopped fine

1 to 2 cups green peppers

1 to 2 cups jalapeno peppers (depending on how “warm” you like your salsa!)

1 cup vinegar

3½ tsp. salt

Boil 30 minutes; put into jars and heat in hot water bath for 15 minutes.

Fresh Tomato Pie

9-inch deep-dish pie crust

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

3 tbsp. chopped basil, divided

3 medium-size tomatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

1 ½ tbs. olive oil

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

Prick sides and bottom of pie crust with fork. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Sprinkle cheese evenly into crust and top with 2 Tbs. basil. Arrange tomato slices on top, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on cookie sheet on lower rack of oven.. Bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining basil. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.