Cooperative Living July 2016 - 36

CommonwealthKitchen
Cooking
in Season
With:
Tomatoes
Enjoy these 'apples of love' while
they are sun-ripened and plentiful!
It's hard to imagine a time when Americans didn't love fresh tomatoes, but during
the Colonial era, superstition held that eating a tomato would turn your blood to
acid. Tomato plants closely resemble the deadly nightshade plant, and in fact every
part of a tomato plant except the fruit is toxic. First grown in Central and South
America and brought to Europe by Spanish explorers, tomatoes first gained
popularity as an aphrodisiac. The French even named them " pommes d'amore, "
(apples of love). Since the 1940s, tomatoes grown in Hanover County, Virginia, have
gained a special reputation, celebrated each summer at the Hanover Tomato
Festival. Here are recipes featuring this summertime treat.
FROM OUR READERS:
Tomato & Shrimp Salad
Julia Rutland, Purcellville, Virginia
Ingredients:
¼ cup olive oil
3 T white balsamic vinegar
1 T chopped fresh basil
1 T honey
¼ t each salt and pepper
4 cups arugula or
spring salad mix
3 ripe yellow or red tomatoes,
cut in wedges
3 cups diced watermelon,
seeds removed
Chopped onion to taste
1 lb. large shrimp, cooked,
peeled and chilled
½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
Directions: Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, basil, honey, salt and pepper in a
small bowl. Spread greens on a serving platter. Top with tomatoes, watermelon,
onion and shrimp. Drizzle dressing over salad and sprinkle with feta. Serve
immediately. Makes 4 servings.
Editor's note: Regular balsamic vinegar works well, too.
FROM OUR READERS:
Green Tomato Cake
Yvonne Burnette, Sutherland, Virginia
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 t vanilla
3 eggs
1 t each baking powder
and salt
3 cups flour
1 t each cinnamon and nutmeg
2 cups cored and chopped
green tomatoes
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 " x13 " baking dish. Whip
butter, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, beating
well after each addition. Combine dry ingredients and gradually add to butter
mixture. Stir in tomatoes, raisins and nuts and spread in baking dish. Bake for 5060
minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pan; top with cream cheese frosting, if desired.
34 | Cooperative Living | July 2016
Send us your recipes! Your recipe
contributions featuring these seasonal ingredients are
welcomed for use in upcoming issues: corn, summer
squash, winter squash and Virginia seafood/shellfish.
Please email submissions to commonwealthkitchen@
co-opliving.com or mail them to Commonwealth
Kitchen, c/o Cooperative Living, P.O. Box 2340, Glen
Allen, VA 23058-2340. All published submissions will
receive a $20 Walmart gift card.
www.co-opliving.com
FROM OUR READERS:
Homemade Stewed Tomatoes
Jerry Ann Nichols, Winchester, Virginia
Ingredients:
4 ripe tomatoes
1
⁄3
cup chopped onion
2 T chopped green pepper
1 T sugar or honey
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
1 cup diced bread or soft crumbs
Directions: Peel tomatoes by placing them in
boiling water for a minute, then allowing to cool. Cut
tomatoes in large chunks, then add to a medium
saucepan with their juice and next 5 ingredients.
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes; stir in bread cubes
or crumbs just before serving.
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living July 2016

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