Whether you say “to-may-toe” or “ta-ma-toe”—tomatoes are a delicious and nutritious fruit that we can enjoy all summer long.

Tomatoes are high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium and Potassium. They are also a source of one of nature’s most powerful antioxidants—lycopene. Lycopene has been said to help with cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, eyesight, male infertility and general health. Cooking tomatoes results in a two-to-threefold rise in lycopene concentrations; consequently, cooked tomato foods, such as ketchup and marinara sauce yield higher levels of lycopene per serving and account for more than 85 percent of the dietary intake of lycopene for most people.

Tomatoes are a popular garden plant, and it is now easier for those with not-so-green thumbs to grow their own tomatoes at home. The Topsy Turvy® tomato planter makes growing tomatoes yourself easier than traditional methods of dealing with stakes and seed spacing. The design of the Topsy Turvy® tomato planter is upside down, leading water and nutrients to pour directly from the root to the fruit.

Once your tomatoes are picked (from your garden or at the store) they can be stored in the refrigerator, but are best kept at room temperature. Refrigerated tomatoes tend to lose flavor but are still edible.

Tomatoes are an acidic fruit, which makes them especially easy to preserve in home canning. Often they are canned whole, in pieces, as sauce or paste. They can also be preserved by drying and sold in bags or in jars of oil. The juice of tomatoes is sold as a beverage.
Fried green tomatoes are a classic southern dish made from unripe green tomatoes that are breaded and fried.

No matter how you slice them, tomatoes make hot summer days just a bit cooler.

Fresh summer red tomatoes can be enjoyed a variety of ways:

• A caprese salad, which consists of slices of fresh mozzarella cheese, basil leaves and slices of vine-ripened or plum tomatoes, drizzled with oil and balsamic vinegar.

• A tomato raw sauce can lighten up a pasta dish for summer—use your favorite tomato variety—plum, grape or cherry is delicious—and combine with olive oil, garlic and your preferred combination of herbs.

• Fresh salsas, “Salsa Fresca" or "Pico de Gallo," as this salsa is often called, is an easy to make treat to dip tortilla chips into. Just combine the following ingredients:
6 medium-sized tomatoes, chopped
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
2-4 seeded and minced chili peppers, such as jalapenos
1 bell pepper, fine dice
1/2 red onion, fine chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lime, juiced
Salt, and pepper, to taste
Fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped, to taste

But sometimes this delicious, healthy summer delicacy just requires a salt shaker.

Whether M&M’s or beef jerky, members of the military who serve far from home love eating foods that remind them of the homeland they are fighting for.

After Sept. 11, 2001, the Defense Department decided to prohibit the American public from sending letters or packages directly to troops due to the threat of anthrax. This is where Operation USO Care Package comes in.
The program was organized to help distribute care packages to troops by the United Service Organization (USO). It has since distributed more than 1.8 million packages since its development in 2003. Their goal is to provide troops with a “touch of home.”

USO is a charitable, non-profit organization that has been in operation for 68 years and currently operates in more than 140 centers around the world. Operation USO Care Package allows the public to make a $25 contribution to a care package that is valued at $50 to $75, along with a personal message to the service member who will receive it.

Inside every care package there is a short questionnaire for the member to fill out that informs USO which food or drink items they would most like to have sent in their packages. Cheryl Hall, the USO’s chief operating officer in the metro Washington, D.C., area , said that beef jerky always tops the list, along with drink mixes like Crystal Light and instant coffee.

Members of the military also love candy, with Twizzlers and M&M’s the most requested. Cookies, gum, sunflower seeds, trail mix, dried fruit and granola bars are also popular.

Hall said that one of the main goals of the program is to give the troops the best quality products possible.

The easiest way to purchase a care package is to go online at USO.org. “That’s the best way for the American public to get involved; we’ll put the care package together for them, and this gives them the ability to focus on the message that they want to include to the service member to really thank them for their service,” Hall said.

Interest in home canning—cooking food and preserving it in glass jars as your great-grandmother may have done—is on the rise, as consumers strive to find new ways to enjoy seasonal produce all year.

“People are becoming more in touch with their food again. They’re cooking more, they’re interested in higher-quality ingredients and also buying direct at farmers’ markets,” said Rebecca Courchesne, co-author of “The Art of Preserving,” a new book from Williams-Sonoma.

“Canning is making a comeback because of the foodie revolution,” said Courchesne. “People love to can because it’s really satisfying. Everyone has favorite memories of canning or canned food.”

Although jams, jellies and marmalades made with berries and other fruit may be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about canning, preserving corn, cucumbers and other vegetables without using sugar or pectin is also surging in popularity.

Getting started if you’re new to canning is not difficult. And the startup cost is modest (about $20) if you already own a wide, flat pot and a bigger stock pot for boiling water.

Courchesne recommends that canning newbies start by making a small (six or seven half-pint jars) batch of jam from high-acid fruits such as cherries, peaches, apricots or nectarines. Minimal preparation of fruit is needed to make jam, plus most recipes are “forgiving.” And a jam that doesn’t set quite right may still taste delicious.

In addition, “There’s very little danger of botulism or other issues related to food safety if something goes wrong when canning fruits of this type,” Courchesne explained. You also do not have to add pectin or “tons of sugar” when canning high-acid fruits.

No matter what you’re canning, using the freshest possible produce—picked that day if possible—yields optimum flavor.

[Sidebar]

Know Your Fruit Spreads

Conserve—a combination of two or more fruits. Often includes dried fruits or nuts. Cooked with sugar and generally chunky.

Fruit butter—dark, thick pureed fruit that was cooked slowly with a little added sugar.

Jam—chopped, crushed or mashed fruit cooked with sugar (and sometimes added pectin).

Jelly—jellied fruit juice with added sugar (and possibly pectin) but no fruit or peel. May be made with vegetables and herbs.

Marmalade—chopped, pureed or sliced citrus peel from one or more fruits, cooked with sugar. Soft, cooked peel is suspended in jelly made from fruit juice.

Preserves—whole cooked fruits/fruit pieces suspended in soft jelly or syrup. Spices, wine or spirits may be added. (“Preserves” is the common name used for all types of fruit spreads.)