By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

The other day, I saw a commercial on TV for a fast food restaurant advertising breakfast.

This commercial was produced as if this restaurant had invented the most important meal of the day.

I had seen this commercial before and had laughed at one particular item.

This item was in my family’s history and served to my mom and her best friend during the depression.

This fact made me think of how much things have changed and how much they have remained the same.

My mother grew up in a large city in Kentucky. Her parents raised rabbits and ducks for food but nothing else. My mother’s grandmother was the gardener. Her yard, which was right next to my mother’s, was filled with nut trees, flowers, vegetables and herbs. Summers were spent picking Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

As old fashioned as consommé may seem to be it is in fact a study in technique and patience.

Technique, however, is at times another way of saying “leave it alone,” since in this case all that is needed is a well-made stock and the time to let a slow simmer transform it into something unique.

The base is made with roasted tomatoes, and the clarifying agent is made with raw tomatoes, which don’t need to be the best quality you can find.

Makes about 2 quarts consommé

for the roasted tomato stock:

• 6 globe tomatoes, roasted
• 1 gallon chicken or vegetable stock Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

This sauce is a derivation of the “best ever roasted tomato sauce” from an earlier post.

French cuisine taught us much about utilizing basic sauces for more complicated recipes, and much like the “mother” tomato sauce, the basic roasted tomato sauce serves as a base for this one.

It requires little else than adding heavy cream and pureed roasted shallots, but it tastes as though it was invented entirely for its own purpose.

Makes about 2 cups of sauce

• 3 large red tomatoes, cored and left whole
• 3 shallots, peeled but left whole
• ¼ cup olive oil Read the rest of this entry »

By Michelle Fabio

If you’re in the northern hemisphere, I hope the winter is easing a bit and allowing you to start thinking about planting your tomatoes.

But if you’re experiencing weather like we’re having in southern Italy, though, it’s still time for canned tomatoes and hearty dishes like this one — one of my absolute recipes from my Italian grandmother:

Pork, Italian Green Beans, and Potatoes in Tomato Sauce

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound of pork ribs (or other cut on the bone)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large can and 1 small can of Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

Last October Kira Hamman wrote about some tomato-related crafts you could work on this fall and winter as you wait for tomato growing season to start again. It’s that time of year again, so I thought I would scour the net for some more nifty tomato craft projects.

The Psychotic Tomato

If you missed this the first time, be sure to check Goodness. I’m not even quite sure what to say about this project. It’s basically a tomato with one large eyeball. Who doesn’t want that in their house, right? (I do want one, actually!)

Vintage Tomato Potholder

I think it is always good to have a lot of potholders on hand. With this pattern you can crochet your own set of vintage tomato potholders.

Edible Tomato Hat

A few years back I discovered Read the rest of this entry »

By Michelle Fabio

I would wager that among tomato lovers, it surprises precisely no one to know that tomatoes are not only healthy for our bodies but also for our skin.

In particular, with their high Vitamin A and C contents, tomatoes have been shown to combat oily skin without drying it out–no easy feat for a scientist in a laboratory, perhaps, but for our tomato, it’s just natural.

Here are 5 ways you can incorporate tomatoes into your daily beauty routine for younger-looking and healthier skin:

1. To hydrate your skin, crush a tomato and apply the pulp to your skin. Wash off after a few minutes.

2. To combat oily skin, mix Read the rest of this entry »