RICHMOND — It is just about time for harvesting tomatoes, those delightful fruits of summer that we lust for through the cold months of the year.

While tomatoes are available all year ‘round, the “hot house” tomatoes we get in the winter time, with what many describe as a “cardboard” taste, just don’t stand up to what we can get from our own gardens, roadside stands and farmers’ markets this time of year.

Tomatoes were first cultivated by the Aztecs and taken to Europe by the Spanish Conquistadores. The French (as the French often do) embraced tomatoes as an aphrodisiac, dubbing them “love apples.” This, needless to say, ensured their almost immediate popularity throughout Europe.

People in the British Colonies, however, were skeptical, and many considered tomatoes poisonous, because of the relationship of the tomato plant to deadly nightshade. For some time, tomatoes were grown in the New World only as decorative plants.

Today, of course, we know tomatoes are far from poisonous. In fact, they are heavy in lycopene, an antioxidant that boosts immunity.

Tomatoes are among the easiest things to grow in the home garden. Just plant the seedlings when all chance of frost is past, cage or stake them, give them the water they need and fertilize occasionally, and you’re almost sure to have a nice crop.

If you find critters are bothering your tomatoes as they ripen, (my brother-in-law has problems with birds pecking on them as soon as they start to turn pink) you can pick them as soon as they start to ripen and let them finish the process on your kitchen counter. Of course, the ideal is to allow them to vine ripen, but we do what we must!

We plant a variety of different tomatoes each year for different uses: cherry and grape tomatoes for salads, Italian plums or Romas for cooking, and beefsteak for slicing for use in sandwiches. There is an almost infinite variety of tomatoes — early ones, yellow ones and even striped and purple ones. So, we try a few different varieties each year to see how they grow and how we like them.

Since we always over-plant, we are delighted that tomatoes freeze and can well. You can just fill a sealable freezer bag with whole tomatoes and pop it in the freezer. Or, you can process the tomatoes into a sauce and freeze them in those bags. They are not the same as fresh, but preferable to the “hot house” variety when winter winds blow cold.

Tomatoes can very well, too.

Enjoy your fresh love apples while you can! To help you do that, here are a few of my favorite fresh tomato recipes for you to try!



Fresh Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

12 fresh Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 T fresh basil, finely chopped

1 T fresh oregano, finely chopped

2T fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 T fresh tarragon, finely chopped

1 T fresh rosemary, finely chopped



Preparation:

In a large fry pan, sauté the onion, pepper and garlic in the olive oil until limp, but not brown, about five minutes. Add the tomatoes and herbs and cook on low heat until the tomatoes start to cook down. Stir periodically and cook until the sauce thickens and is well blended. The whole process should take about 30 to 45 minutes. If the sauce thickens too much, add a bit of dry white wine. Serve over any kind of pasta, over broiled fish fillets or any dish that calls for a tomato sauce.



South Of The Border Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredient:

6-8 medium tomatoes

2 cups fresh chopped broccoli

1 cup Parmesan cheese

4 oz. shredded nacho cheese

3/4 (three-fourths) cup mayonnaise

1 1/2 (1 and one-half) cups soft bread crumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

Tabasco sauce



Preparation:

Combine bread crumbs and cheese and set aside. Slice off the tops of the tomatoes, scoop out the pulp and place in a strainer to drain. Place the hollowed out tomatoes upside down on paper towels.

Cook the broccoli until crisp, but, tender, then drain. Chop the tomato pulp and place in a large bowl. Add broccoli, cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, salt and pepper and half the bread crumb and cheese mixture, along with a dash or two of the Tabasco.

Stuff the tomatoes and place in 11x 7 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch greased baking dish, sprinkle with the rest of the crumb mix and bake uncovered at  375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.



Shrimp Creole

Ingredients:

3 lb. shelled and deveined raw shrimp    

2 green peppers, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced                

3 large onions, chopped

6 T. cooking oil                                

1 bag frozen cut okra

1 tsp. salt

1/4 (one-fourth) tsp. fresh ground pepper            

1 tsp. dried rosemary

1 tsp. paprika                          

8 dashes Tabasco

1 tsp. Worcestershire                  

6 large ripe tomatoes, chopped

2 T dried parsley                              

Preparation:

Sauté peppers, onions and garlic in oil until tender (about 20 min. over medium heat). Add all other ingredients except shrimp and cook over medium heat for an hour, stirring occasionally. About 10 minutes before you're ready to serve, add the okra. Add shrimp and cook briefly, just until they turn pink. Serve over rice.



Spanish Chicken With Rice (Arroz con Pollo)

Ingredient:

3 lbs. chicken pieces

1/2 cup (one-half) flour, seasoned with 1 tsp. dried oregano, 1 tsp. garlic salt 1/2 (one-half)  tsp. black pepper

2 onions, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes

2 bay leaf

4 oz. chorizo sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 T fresh parsley, chopped

4 cups chicken stock

1/4 (one-fourth) tsp. ground saffron

2 cups rice

1/2 (one-half) cup pimento-stuffed green olives

1/4 (one-fourth)  cup dry sherry

1/2 (one-half) bag frozen peas

Preparation:

Wash and pat dry the chicken pieces. Coat them with flour mixture and sauté in a large fry pan until golden. Set the chicken pieces aside. In remaining oil, sauté onions and pepper until onion is lightly browned. Add chicken, tomatoes, bay leaves, sausage, parsley and 2 cups chicken stock. Cover, simmer 30 minutes. Place the rice in a large oven proof casserole. Bring the remaining 2 cups of chicken stock to a boil, stir in saffron and pour over the rice. Transfer contents of the fry pan and the olives to the casserole, cover and bake in a 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. Add the sherry, sprinkle with peas and return to the oven for about 10 minutes.