How to Grow, Preserve and Cook Tomatoes
Cultivating, Preparing and Eating One of Natures’ Most Perfect Foods
Sep 3, 2009
Tomatoes can be started from seed in a hothouse, but most people purchase starter plants and place them directly into the ground in spring or in patio containers. Other than planting in fertile soil in a full sunlight and regular watering, tomato plants are hardy and produce an abundant crop.
The plants should be staked to prevent breakage of the stems from the weight of the ripening fruit. And keep an eye out for tomato worms. They are large and green and blend in with the color of the plant. They eat the fruit and can destroy an entire crop of tomatoes. Use gloves to hand pick the worms off the plant and destroy them immediately.
Studies have shown that not only do tomatoes have the high concentrations of vitamins C and A, but Edward Giovannucci, a leading cancer researcher at Harvard Medical School concluded after analyzing the results of 72 studies on the health effects of tomatoes that the antioxidant properties of lycopene, and carotenoid found primarily in tomatoes, have raised interest in the tomato as a food with potential anticancer properties.
Tomatoes come in many varieties among the most popular are:
- plum tomatoes, good for eating fresh, making sauces or canning
- Beefsteak tomatoes, the largest tomato great for slicing in sandwiches and on burgers
- Cherry tomatoes are grape-sized and are used in salads or for a light, nutritious snack
Because tomatoes do not lose their vitamin content when cooked, they can be used in any recipe that calls for fresh or canned tomatoes.
This delicious recipe for Tomato Rice Soup has been handed down by generations of Acadian families living in Atlantic Canada. The macaroni is optional, but adds a hearty, thickness to the soup.
Acadian Tomato Rice Soup
- 1 – 28 oz can chopped or stewed tomatoes or 6 fresh peeled tomatoes
- Add 2 – 28oz cans water and 1 –156 ml can of tomato paste
- 3 tbps butter or margarine
- 3 tbps white sugar
- 2 large stalks of celery with leaves, chopped
- 2 medium or 1 large cooking onion, chopped
- 1 large carrot or 2 small carrots, sliced thin
- 1/3 cup white rice
- 1/3 cup elbow macaroni *
- 1 pkt Bovril chicken broth or 1 tbsp of liquid Bovril or other brand of broth
- Salt & pepper to taste
*Optional
Directions:
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, bring all ingredients to gentle boil on medium heat. Lower heat and stir (preferably with a wooden spoon) every 10 minutes or so to keep rice and macaroni from sticking to bottom of pot.
- For a thinner soup use less rice and macaroni, and add more water, but adjust seasonings.
- Continue cooking until vegetables are soft, about ½ to ¾ of an hour.
- Add milk to soup in bowls to make it creamy or sprinkle with a favorite grated cheese.
- Serve with hot plain or cheesy tea biscuits for a tasty, filling meal.
Cooking and Preserving Tomatoes
An easy way to preserve an over abundant crop of tomatoes is to select ripe, red fruit, remove peel by blanching in boiling water for 30 seconds and then plunging into cold water to cool. Chop and stew tomatoes for about 1/2 hour, when cool place in Ziploc or freezers bags. Remove air by sucking out with a straw.
When ready to use in a recipe simply dump the frozen, stewed tomatoes into a pot or cut away the freezer bag. To eat stewed tomatoes, allow to thaw in a bowl in the refrigerator.
These are just some of the ways to enjoy the bounty of a delicious, tomato harvest all winter long.
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