BelAir Farmers Market

Tomatoes 101

What to look for:
Tomatoes should have no blemishes, be firm to the touch and fragrant. It should seem heavy for its size and give slightly under pressure. Store tomatoes at room temperature until they are ripe. It is then best to use them in the next day or two. It is not recommended to store tomatoes in the refrigerator because it can affect their flavor.

Did you know:

• One medium-sized tomato provides half a child's recommended daily allowance of vitamin C.
• Tomatoes are rich in the antioxidant lycopene which is thought to prevent heart disease.
• A tomato is technically a fruit because it is a ripened ovary of a plant. But for trade purposes a tomato is considered a vegetable. An 1893 Supreme Court ruling classified the fruit as a vegetable so that it could be taxed under tariff law.
• Tomatoes were thought to be poisonous when Robert Gibbon Johnson brought them to Salem, New Jersey, from Europe in the early 1800s. To show that this was false, Johnson ate an entire box of them in front of a shocked crowd on the courthouse steps on September 26, 1820.
• The largest tomato on record hails from Edmond, Oklahoma, in 1986--an enormous 7 pounds 12 ounces (more than my daughter weighed at birth!)

How to Peel A Tomato?
check out the video here
and more details here

sources:
Real Simple Magazine, August 2007
Marthastewart.com

Picking Tips: Asparagus

WHY IT'S SO GOOD:
Asparagus is high in fiber, folic acid and potassium.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:
Asparagus spears should be firm and crisp, not soft or wrinkly. The tips should be closed and compact.
The thickness of the spears really has nothing to do with how tender they are. Either size is good, if you choose a fresh bundle.

HOW TO STORE IT:
Asparagus is best prepared on the day it is purchased, but you can store it in your refrigerator for up to five days. Wrap the cut ends in a damp paper towel and then place in a paper bag and store them in your crisper. Or you can simply stand the stalks in your refrigerator in a bowl with about an inch of water.

When you are ready to prepare your asparagus, trim the ends at the natural breaking point--where the color changes from white to green.

COOKING TIPS:
When asparagus is cooked properly it is bright green and crisp-tender. Undercooked asparagus is firm or stiff and over-cooked asparagus is mushy and stringy.

One of my new favorite ways of cooking asparagus this summer is to roast it. I've done larger batches in my oven and smaller servings are simple to cook in a toaster oven.

Roasted Asparagus:
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Place the spears in a shallow baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. (coarse salt is great for this). Roll the spears around in the dish to be sure they are coated with the olive oil. A medium-thick spear will cook for approximately 10 minutes, but you will have to adjust your cooking time depending on the thickness.
If necessary, drizzle a little more olive oil on the spears after cooking and add more seasoning.

helpful source: marthastewart.com