Tomatoes

I have a love-hate relationship with tomatoes. I don't like many raw vegetables, including tomatoes, although I will eat them on sandwiches which are doused with enough spices or condiments to mask the taste. However, the taste of a tomato is less and less a concern, as the food industry is more concerned with the tomato's look and robust portability. And don't tell me I just haven't tasted a freshly picked home-grown tomato -- my father picked bushels of them from his garden when I was a child.

However, through the chemistry of cooking, the disagreeable taste and texture of the raw tomato changes to something that I love. But I don't buy raw tomatoes and cook them. Canned tomatoes are the only canned vegetables that are acceptable to eat, in my opinion. My only concern is the extra sugar and salt that might be added. I check the label and avoid the ones with added sugar. I haven't been checking the sodium content but will start doing that.

One of my shortcuts for quick meals is prepared spaghetti sauce, the bachelor's friend. I purchase the meatless sauce with extra vegetables (garden style), which I assume is a healthy choice, knowing that it has added sugar and salt. I will be checking labels more carefully.  Would homemade sauce be cheaper and healthier? That will have to be investigated.

One of my favorite meals using tomatoes is a simple "gumbo." I dice onions and green pepper (if I have it) in a pan and saute it adding peeled shrimp and garlic. Then I add canned diced tomatoes, black pepper, no salt (plenty in the tomatoes), a dash of hot sauce, and thicken it with spaghetti sauce since I never have tomato paste. Let it simmer a few minutes and serve over a bed of rice.

Your Thrifty Cook