By Vanessa Richins

I love when tomatoes are used as a symbol of something good.

In London, England, a new private hire car service has opened shop - The Green Tomato Cars.

They offer an environmentally friendly alternative to a standard taxi ride.

Every car in their company is a Hybrid Toyota Prius. That doesn’t mean it will be more expensive though - they say it costs about the same as a regular taxi.

The car does have some emissions still, so, as Clean Technica explains “The Green Tomato Cars participates in double funding offsetting projects in order to Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

You don’t have to stop thinking about tomatoes just because winter is coming and the days are getting cold.

Here are some activities to keep you in the tomato frame of mind.

Save those seeds.

If you’ve still got some tomatoes on your plants, you can save some of the seeds for next year. This is true even with plants affected with late blight, since the seeds won’t pass it on. They will be viable for about 4-10 years on average.

Make Christmas decorations with tomato cages.

Tomato cages aren’t just good at providing support for tomato plants. They can also be transformed into a variety of Christmas trees and other holiday decorations.

Cook up tomatoes for the holidays.

The holiday season means lots of parties, which usually involve food. Bring one of these tomato dishes to your next shindig.

Order Tomato Catalogs.

I LOVE Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

When you think of hurricanes, you think of destruction.

That was true when Hurricane Ike landed in Galveston, Texas in September 2008.

Many of the island’s plants were uprooted and destroyed in the wake of the storm.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, 40,000 trees alone died in the chaos.

However, Galveston citizens received a nice surprise this spring when all sorts of plants started popping up. The storm had brought hope amidst despair in the form of seeds.

Burke Evans, a local resident, found tomatoes, watermelons, cantaloupes, periwinkles, papaya trees and elephant ears. Pam Gilbert received petunias, a mulberry tree, and jalapeños.

The Christian Science Monitor recounts that Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

I hope to be like Larry Kimpell when I’m 80 years old.

I already am in some ways, since we both share a love of growing tomatoes.

Like him, I get seed catalogs in the spring and carefully study all of the varieties, trying to decide which ones I want to grow.

I learned how to garden and cook when I was growing up, as did he.

We both want to help our friends and neighbors eat better. I’m working on starting a community garden, and he helps provide fresh vegetables for the residents of the nursing home he calls home.

The Albert Lea, MN resident is still growing over 100 tomato plants yearly, as part of St. John’s Lutheran Home’s gardening program. He’s lived there for the past 6.5 years, zipping around the garden in Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

When I was going to community college, I took an Italian cooking class.

I developed a love of olive oil, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and more.

As I’ve grown older, I’ve started eating more fruits, vegetables and nuts.

I didn’t realize it, but I’m not far off from what’s called the “Mediterranean Diet”, of which I would personally consider the tomato a star. The name comes from the diet common to the areas, like Italy, around the Mediterranean Sea - fruits, vegetables, fish, legumes, olive oil and nuts. It’s been lauded for years as a way to a healthy heart.

Scientists are now saying that it may also be a key to a healthy mind. As the New York Times reports, “A study of over 10,000 Spaniards followed for almost four and half years on average found that those who reported eating a healthy Mediterranean diet at the beginning of the study were Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins,

We’re familiar with so many different tomato dishes and products - BLT’s, ketchup, tomato sauces, and so much more.

I’ve always had an adventurous palate, so I love trying new foods.

Here’s three different tomato dishes that are a little off the beaten path.

I’m especially fascinated by the tomato eclairs, since I have only had a sweet version.

Tomato Eclairs

I took an advanced baking class in community college. One of the pastries I learned to make was eclairs. They’re not too hard to make. You just mix up flour, butter, eggs and salt in a saucepan, then bake them in the oven. I’ve always made a sweet cream or custard, as well as frosting with chocolate sometimes.

The recipe from the New York Times takes eclairs in a savory direction. Tomatoes are blended into the initial eclair batter before baking. Ricotta and basil are transformed into a delicious filling. I am going to have to try this recipe soon!

Tomato Jam

I suppose the idea Read the rest of this entry »