I’m In Tomato Heaven Recipe! Greek Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes

Cherry Tomatoes From the Farmers Market of All Shapes, Sizes, Colors, Textures and Flavors!

I’m in tomato heaven! Tomatoes are my favorite vegetable (maybe because they’re actually a fruit!). It all started with my Grandmother. She would plant dozens – or it seemed like dozens to a child – of tomato plants every year in her huge vegetable garden. We’d pick them ripe from the vine, and eat them while still warm from the summer sun. I’ll never forget how soft, juicy, and red throughout they were. I feel so lucky that today, we have our Farmers Markets growing these kinds of spectacular specimens… of all shapes, sizes, colors, textures, and flavors!

Heirloom tomatoes are old varieties of tomatoes which have been passed down through generations. They are tastier, but more delicate, because they’re bred to be picked and eaten right away – they’re not bred to travel (as many of the tomatoes in the grocery store may be). Heirloom varieties have natural resistance to pests, disease and are better able to tolerate local conditions without too much extra energy, pesticides or water. Locally, organically produced food saves water, energy and encourages a region’s unique varieties of fruits and vegetables.

Greek Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes
excerpted from “Diet Simple Farm to Table Recipes: 50 New Reasons to Cook in Season!” by ME (only $4.95)

Serves 8

Ingredients:

Vinaigrette:
2 Tablespoons Freshly Harvested Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice (1 Lemon)
1 Tablespoon Chopped Fresh Oregano or Basil (or 1 tsp dried)
1 Clove Garlic, Minced (optional)
Salt and Pepper to Taste (Salt is not necessary with the cheese and olives)

Vegetables:
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and sliced into a half-moon shape
1 onion, peeled and chopped coarsely
1 medium yellow, purple or green bell pepper, cored, seeded, chopped into large bite-size pieces
1 cup pitted Kalamata or other Greek Olives
4 Heirloom Tomatoes, quartered, and cut into large, bite-size pieces (or any vine-ripe tomatoes)

4 ounces Feta or Goat Cheese, broken into small bits

Instructions:

Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in a large salad bowl and whisk until blended. Add the cucumbers, onion, pepper, and olives and toss into vinaigrette. Let sit for twenty minutes to marinate. Add the heirloom tomatoes and cheese when ready to serve.

Tomatoes are one of the “superfoods.” Men who consumed 10 or more servings of tomato products a week had a 35% decrease in risk of prostate cancer relative to those who consumed 1.5 servings or fewer per week. This is largely attributed to “lycopene” in the tomatoes, which is also in other red fruits such as watermelon, pink grapefruit and guava. Men with lycopene levels in the top 20% had a 46% decrease in risk of heart attack compared to those in the bottom 20%. Lycopene is a potent scavenger of gene-damaging free radicals. But don’t expect to get it from a supplement. You must eat the tomato as you need the whole food to receive the benefits! But because lycopene is fat-soluble, you must eat the tomato with an oil of some kind for it to be available to your body.

Lycopene (Red fruits such as tomatoes, watermelon, guava): Many studies have shown that lycopene-rich foods reduce the risk of prostate cancer, but the mechanism behind that reduction was not well understood until now. A recent study found that lycopene has a substantial protective effect against prostate cancer by interfering with the genes that would allow the prostate cancer cells to grow and survive. The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends that men take advantage of lycopene’s cancer-preventing effects and fill their diets with foods such as tomatoes, watermelon and guava.