Prairie Fare: Planning for Too Much of a Good Thing

(Note to readers: It’s appropriate that this column deals with planning ahead because I’m making some long-term changes in my life. I’ll be leaving NDSU at the end of July. Finishing up a graduate degree is part of my plan. I’ve enjoyed talking to some of you who read this column and reading some gracious letters others have written. Writing part of this column for nearly three years has strengthened my belief that cooking is an art form because of the passion it stirs.)

No one is likely to envy Midas for his golden touch. And some may recall the story about the woman who was granted her wish to live forever; the lesson of this story is that she should have wished for eternal youth instead. Both stories provide horrific images showing what happens when people want something too much.

So, is excess evil? Well, when it comes to certain types of seasonal food, a particular type of excess may be essential to take advantage of a fleeting opportunity, fresh tomatoes. The culinary lesson to be learned boils down to this key point: how to tastefully manage too much of a good thing.

What to do? It’s a given that the first dozen or so tomatoes coming out of a backyard garden will end up sliced or diced. Fresh tomatoes with only a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Fresh tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and several splashes of balsamic vinegar. Fresh tomatoes layered with slices of goat cheese (chevre) and topped with a rosemary-scented Dijon mustard dressing.

California burgers featuring guacamole, along with the trinity of shredded lettuce and sliced onion and fresh tomato. Grilled Swiss cheese and bacon sandwiches with fresh spinach leaves and sliced fresh tomatoes.

Diced fresh tomatoes, chopped fresh basil, cubes of smoked mozzarella cheese and a garlicky vinaigrette. Diced fresh tomatoes, cubes of fresh zucchini, chopped purple onion, minced garlic, and an oil and vinegar dressing--all served over steaming pasta (such as penne) and topped with grated Parmesan or Asiago.

What next? The following recipe answers that question nicely.

Stuffed Tomatoes
(Adapted from a recipe appearing in "The Original 1896 Fanny Farmer Cook Book.")
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
6 medium-sized tomatoes
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon minced onion
1/2 cup chopped, cooked chicken (cold)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
1 large egg, slightly beaten
6 tablespoons sunflower seeds

Procedure:
Wipe tomatoes and remove one thin slice from the stem end of each. Remove seeds and pulp, saving pulp, and then sprinkle the inside of each tomato with salt. Invert tomatoes and allow to stand one-half hour while draining onto paper towels. Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium-sized skilled and saute onions for five minutes. Add chicken, bread crumbs and tomato pulp and cook five minutes longer. Season mixture to taste with salt and pepper and then add the egg and cook one minute longer. Divide chicken mixture evenly among tomatoes. Sprinkle each tomato with 1 tablespoon of sunflower seeds. Place tomatoes in a baking pan that’s been sprayed with cooking oil and bake 20 minutes at 350 F. Serve with steamed broccoli and wild rice.

What’s Your Take on This, Julie?

Tomatoes were regarded as poisonous for generations but became known as "love apples" and "apples of gold" in some parts of the world after they were discovered to be safe--and delicious. A serving of Stuffed Tomatoes, with its tasty chicken filling and crunchy sprinkling of sunflower seeds, contains about 160 calories and 10 grams of fat.

Tomatoes are second only to potatoes in their level of cultivation in the United States. These fruits (because of their seeds) are nonetheless considered vegetables on the menu. Tomatoes are low in calories and also provide folate, vitamin C and potassium. When selecting fresh tomatoes, look for fruits with a rosy color, plump shape, blemish-free skin and a texture that’s slightly soft to the touch. Tomatoes that are overripe, bruised or sunburned with yellow or green areas near the stem are lower in quality.

There are many reasons to add tomatoes to your menu. Tomatoes, particularly in cooked products like spaghetti sauce, appear to reduce our risk for certain diseases. Lycopenes are responsible for the red color of tomatoes. These natural colorants in the carotenoid family are powerful antioxidants and, according to several research studies, they may offer protection against certain types of cancer, particularly prostate cancer.

In one study of 12 prostate cancer patients and 12 healthy males of the same ages, researchers found lower levels of lycopene in the blood and tissue in the cancer patients compared to the healthy males. Other researchers have concluded that lycopenes appear to protect our DNA from damage that could lead to cancer.

If you have a bumper crop of tomatoes or happen upon a bounteous farmers’ market and decide to preserve them, remember that all tomato varieties should be acidified with lemon juice or citric acid before canning them. Tomatoes varieties have changed over the years, and many varieties are less acidic than former varieties, so the acid is added as a safety measure. Water bath processing times also have changed. Freezing, on the other hand, does not require the addition of acid.

If your tastes are on the spicy side, remember that only research-tested salsa recipes should be canned, and the proportions of the ingredients such as onions, peppers, vinegar or lemon juice should not be altered because it will affect the safety of the product. If you have a favorite salsa recipe that’s family tested for taste but not research-tested for canning, it’s safest to freeze it.

For research-tested canning recipes and other food preservation information, contact your local county office of the NDSU Extension Service or visit the NDSU Food, Food Safety and Nutrition website ( http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/food.htm ).

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Sources: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136
Julie Garden-Robinson (701) 231-7187