Bananas About Tomatoes

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 15 people | Log in to rate

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I Love Tomatoes!

Welcome to my tribute page to the worlds greatest fruit masquerading as a vegetable -the little red beauty that is the tomato.

On this lens you'll find a few of my favourite tomato recipes as well as links to more than a few I wish I'd thought of. You'll also find lots of great quality tomato products, nutritional information and clips.

Tomatoes Are Good For You! 

Tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene and flavonoids which possess possible anticarcinogenic properties. In addition they are an excellent source of Vitamin C, Vitamin A and B-complex vitamins as well as potassium and phosphorus.

The Tomato Gallery 

 by sharon_k

 by sharon_k

July 4th by OakleyOriginals

July 4th

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Fruit on Parade

So beautiful, you can almost smell it..... by ellievanhoutte

So beautiful, you ca...

Sungold Tomatoes & Baby Zucchini by ellievanhoutte

Sungold Tomatoes &am...

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Summer Spread at the...

Mushroom and Bell Pepper Omelette by David Reber

Mushroom and Bell Pe...

Broccoli salad by woordenaar

Broccoli salad

179::365 by .j.e.n.n.y.

179::365

Bean Salad Before Mixing by HiMalta

Bean Salad Before Mi...

front yard tomatoes coming in, coming on by davidsilver

front yard tomatoes...

Yes but why are these things good? 

and what the heck is potassium?

Vitamin C prevents scurvy and boosts the immune system, it may also help to prevent cancer heart disease and strokes.

Vitamin A helps the body develop new and healthy tissue, boosts the immune system, helps prevent night blindness and may help prevent cancer.

Phosphorus is vital for the formation of strong teeth and bones, boosts energy, reduces stress and anxiety, regulates hormone production, boosts kidney function and helps the body to absorb calcuim.

B-Complex Vitamins boost the metabolism, boost the functions of the immune and nervous systems, help prevent anemia, maintain healthy skin and muscle tone and may help prevent some forms of cancer.

Potassium helps prevent heart disease, hypoglycemia, diabetes, obesity and kidney disease. It helps keep muscles strong, bowels regular and reduces stress and fatigue. It may also help to lower high blood pressure.

Lycopene and flavonoids are a rich source of antioxidants which may have anti-aging and anticarcinogenic properties.

Herby Tomato and Olive Salad 

1 pound nice flavoured tomatoes
1 crushed clove garlic
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 oz mozzarella cheese
handful of chopped black olives
handful fresh basil leaves
handful of parsley
handful of chives
Salt and fresh ground Black Pepper

1. Chop the tomatoes into thick wedges.
2. Mix the crushed garlic with the vineagar, oil, chives and parsley.
3. Toss the tomatoes and chopped olives in the dressing.
4. Arrange the tomatoes on a serving dish with the mozzerella and scatter the basil over the top.

Serve with a good bread to mop up the juices.

Gazpacho 

10 oz of bread diced into 1/2 inch cubes
21 oz. of chopped fresh tomatoes
3 cloves of crushed garlic
2 chillies deseeded and diced
2 Spanish onions chopped
2 red and yellow bell peppers diced
1 cucumber diced
7-8 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar
Water as required
A handful of chopped mint and parsley
1tsp Cumin

Chop tomatoes. Transfer chopped tomatoes and tomato juices to large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour.

Puree gazpacho adding water as required in blender until smooth. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish with fresh chopped mint and parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Bloody Mary 

20 ounces tomato juice
6 ounces chili vodka*
2 dashes Hot Pepper Sauce
1 dash Worcestershire style sauce*
Pinch celery salt
Pinch black pepper
1 lime, juiced
Ice

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher, stir thouroughly to ensure the flavours have time to mix. Add 2 large glasses filled with ice and serve.

*Chili vodka is available commercially but I prefer to make my own by adding a few sliced chillies to a bottle of vodka and leaving them to marinade for a week or two.

*Worcestershire sauce isn't veggie friendly but there are many veggie versions available which work just as well.

Tomato Salsa 

2-3 medium sized fresh tomatoes diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 hot green chillies deseeded and finely chopped
Juice of one lime
A large handful of chopped fresh coriander
1/2 tsp of cumin
Pinch of salt and fresh ground black pepper.

1. Simply combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly to ensure the flavours combine.

2. Chill for 2-3 hours and serve as part of a Mexican meal or to accompany a snack of tortilla chips.

Provencal Tomatoes 

8 firm medium tomatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 tsp salt
small bunch parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp herbes de provence
3 tbsp white breadcrumbs
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cut the tomatoes in half and fry cut side down in the oil until browned.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.

Place the tomatoes cut side up in an overproof dish and sprinkle the combined ingredients over the top and place in a medium oven for 15-20 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and the breadcrumbs golden and crispy.

Serve warm with bread to mop up the juices.

Spicy Tomato Soup 

1 Tin of chopped tomatoes
1 red bell pepper diced
1 medium onion finely chopped
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 mild green chili deseeded and finely chopped
1 Tbsp tomato puree
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Salt and black pepper to taste
Olive oil
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper or a dash of hot pepper sauce.
Vegetable stock as required.
Chopped fresh herbs to garnish.

Fry the onion, garlic, bell pepper and chili in olive oil until softened.

Add the rest of the ingredients except for the vegetable stock and simmer gently for another few minutes.

Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Blend adding the vegetable stock as required until the desired consistency is achieved.

Reheat and serve garnished with fresh herbs.

Tamatar Cut 

1/2 Pint of Tomato Juice
1tbsp Corn Flour
pinch of salt
1tbsp Coriander powder
1tsp Turmeric
4tbsp vegetable oil
4 green chillies slit on one side
1tsp cumin seeds
1tsp fenugreek seeds
a few curry leaves
6-8 whole medium skinned tomatoes
juice of 1 lemon
a handful of fresh coriander chopped.

Pour the tomato juice into a pan over a low heat, add the cornflour and stir until the juice has thickened slightly and is smooth. Add the salt, turmeric and coriander powder. Increase heat slightly and simmer.

Whilst the sauce is simmering away heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the chillies, curry leaves, cumin and fenugreek seeds. When the oil becomes aromatic and believe me you'll know!, pour the spicy oil over the curry and cover quickly. Add the whole tomatoes turn off the heat and leave for at least two hours to infuse. Ideally you should leave it overnight in the fridge for the best flavour but a couple of hours or so is sufficient.

Just before serving heat for 15-20 mins until piping hot. Garnish with the lemon juice and coriander leaves and serve with rice, couscous or bread.

Cous Cous Stuffed Tomatoes 

4 medium tomatoes
50 g couscous
100 ml of vegetable stock
2 spring onions, finely chopped
25 g feta cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh coriander
Zest of 1 lemon
Sea salt and black pepper(to season)

1. Place the couscous in a mixing bowl and add the hot stock. Leave to stand until fully absorbed then fluff up with a fork to separate the grains.

2. Slice the top of the tomatoes and put aside as you'll need them later. Scoop out the insides of the tomatoes. Chop the tops of the tomatoes finely and add to the couscous. You can also add the insides to the cous cous but if you don't like the seeds just discard them.

3.Add the rest of the ingredients (except the coriander) and mix thoroughly. Season to taste.

4. Place the filling inside the tomatoes and bake in a medium-hot oven for 10-15 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft. The tomatoes should still be holding their shape so don't leave it too long!

Garnish with the chopped coriander and serve warm.

How To Skin A Tomato 

Firstly Bring a pan of water to the boil, while that's boiling fill a bowl with cold water. Next get your tomatoes make a shallow X shaped cut in to bottom of each. Drop each one very briefly (no more than ten seconds) into the pan of boiling water then quickly remove and place in the bowl of cold water.

Remove your tomatoes from the cold water and peel the skin off from the X cut on the bottom up.

Buy Tomatoes 

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Buy Tomato Products 

Roast, Slice, Dice And Cook Your Tomatoes 

MIU Stainless-Steel Tomato/Vegetable Mill

Amazon Price: $62.99 (as of 07/03/2009) Buy Now

Calphalon Commercial 9-Piece Hard-Anodized Cookware Set

Amazon Price: $164.06 (as of 07/03/2009) Buy Now

Serve Your Tomatoes 

Calphalon Tri Ply Stainless Steel Tapas Pans, Set of 2

Amazon Price: $29.99 (as of 07/03/2009) Buy Now

Lenox Butterfly Meadow 7-Piece Pasta/Salad Set

Amazon Price: $61.99 (as of 07/03/2009) Buy Now

Pomerantz Cherry 7-Piece Salad Set

Amazon Price: $36.46 (as of 07/03/2009) Buy Now

Anchor Hocking Presence 2-Piece Chip 'N Dip Serving Set

Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 07/03/2009) Buy Now

Sasaki Envy Green 18-Inch Art Glass Platter

Amazon Price: (as of 07/03/2009) Buy Now

Show The Tomatoes You Care 

Tomato Auctions 

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Tomato Clips 


How to grow tomatoes

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Gardening Tips | Growing Tomatoes

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How to Make Stuffed Tomatoes : How to Remove the Insides of Tomatoes

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Tomato bruschetta recipe

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MaryJose's Recipe: Tomato Onion Quiche

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Tomato, Pesto and Feta Tart recipe

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Fresh Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce Recipe

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17956 views
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How to Cook Vegetables : Final Procedures for a Tomato Concasse Recipe

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How to Cook Vegetables : Cooling Off & Peeling for a Tomato Concasse Recipe

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Tomato Links 

Tomato.org
All about tomatoes
WHFoods: Tomatoes
Non-profit foundation providing reliable, scientifically accurate, personalized information for convenient and enjoyable healthy eating.
Tomatoes - How to Prepare and Eat Tomatoes
Available year round the ubiquitous tomato comes into its own in the summer. Find out how to choose tomatoes, store tomatoes and prepare tomatoes for all manner of dishes.
Tomato Seeds - Organic Heirloom Tomato Seeds and Heirloom Tomatoes
TomatoFest is the ultimate resource for heirloom tomato seeds and heirloom tomatoes with over 600 organic heirloom tomato seed varieties along with growing information. Also, home of the Carmel TomatoFest heirloom tomato festival.
All Recipes
More than 510 fresh tomato recipes!
Tomato: Technorati
Blogs, Photos, Videos and more.
BBC NEWS | Health | 'Tomato treatment' slows cancer
An artificial version of the pigment that gives tomatoes their colouring could help treat prostate cancer, say researchers.
Tomato Recipes
What to do with the abundance of tomatoes from your garden including how to freeze, how to can and tomato recipes for salsa, tomato salad, dilly green tomatoes and tomato soup, tomato dumplings and tomato preserves.
Abigals Best Tomato Recipes
Collection of versatile tomato recipes
Five Minute Tomato Sauce Recipe - 101 Cookbooks
Quick, simple and easy tomato sauce recipe. Bright and clean flavors, a vibrant red in color, exudes the essence of tomatoes.

Tomato Blogs 

Vegan grilled cheeze with kale and tomato salad | Vegetarian ...
This was a relatively simple recipe. Arrowroot and a few other odds and ends make for a nice, melty...
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Tapenade Tantalizer ? olive pate with roasted red peppers and salad. Cold Dog ? vegan frankfurte...
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my whole family eats meat but i don't and i need really good recipes for vegetarian meals or a websi...
New Raw Organic Vegan Gourmet Sushi Roll Recipe by Bryan Au | Low ...
I am teaching my totally new 100% Raw Organic Vegan Gourmet Sushi Roll recipe. I am using thin slice...

Swot Up On Tomatoes 

The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum, syn. Lycopersicon lycopersicum & Lycopersicon esculentum"Molecular phylogenetic analyses have established that the formerly segregate genera Lycopersicon, Cyphomandra, Normania, and Triguera are nested within Solanum, and all species of these four genera have been transferred to Solanum." See: Natural History Museum, Solanaceae Source: Phylogeny of the genus Solanum.) is a herbaceous, usually sprawling plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family, as are its close cousins potatoes, chili peppers, tobacco, eggplant and the poisonous belladonna. It is a perennial, often grown outdoors in temperate climates as an annual. Typically reaching to in height, it has a weak, woody stem that often vines over other plants. The leaves are long, odd pinnate, with 5?9 leaflets on petioles,Acquaah, G. (2002). Horticulture: Principles and Practices. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. each leaflet up to long, with a serrated margin; both the stem and leaves are densely glandular-hairy. The flowers are across, yellow, with five pointed lobes on the corolla; they are borne in a cyme of 3?12 together.

The tomato is native to South America. Genetic evidence shows that the progenitors of tomatoes were herbaceous green plants with small green fruit with a center of diversity in the highlands of Peru.Tomato history These early Solanums diversified into the dozen or so species of tomato recognized today. One species, Solanum lycopersicum, was transported to Mexico where it was grown and consumed by prehistoric humans. The exact date of domestication is not known. Evidence supports the theory the first domesticated tomato was a little yellow fruit, ancestor of L. cerasiforme, grown by the Aztecs of Central Mexico who called it xitomatl (), meaning plump thing with a navel, and later called tomatl by other Mesoamerican peoples. Aztec writings mention tomatoes were prepared with peppers, corn and salt, likely to be the original salsa recipe.

Some people believe that the Spanish explorer Cortez may have been the first to transfer the small yellow tomato to Europe after he captured the Aztec city of Tenochtítlan , now Mexico City in 1521. Yet others believe Christopher Columbus, an Italian working for the Spanish monarchy, was the first European to take back the tomato, earlier in 1493. The earliest discussion of the tomato in European literature appeared in an herbal written in 1544 by Pietro Andrea Mattioli, an Italian physician and botanist, who named it pomi d'oro, golden apple.

The word tomato comes from a word in the Nahuatl language, tomatl. The specific name, lycopersicum, means "wolf-peach" (compare the related species Solanum lycocarpum, whose scientific name means "wolf-fruit", common name "wolf-apple"), as they are a major food of wild canids in South America.

 

Looking for some great recipes? 

Comments 

LoveSimpleThings wrote...

Tomatoes are one of my favorite fruits! Yummy lens!!! :-)

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ReplyPosted February 06, 2009

Lensmaster

GypsyMiracle

Loved your lens. Very informative and interesting. Learned things that I did not know before. Please stop by at my lens DHT Blockers

ReplyPosted August 29, 2008

juliasofia44 wrote...

Good and great lens here!

ReplyPosted August 28, 2008

poutine wrote...

Very interesting lens. I love home grown tomatoes too.

Poutine

ReplyPosted August 22, 2008

stargazer00 wrote...

Lots of info on tomatoes. I'm growing lots of them on my deck this summer. Yum! 5* and faved.

ReplyPosted August 09, 2008

Lensmaster

Paraiba

Thanks for sharing! 5/5
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ReplyPosted August 04, 2008

 
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