Love Apple, Love

Love Apple, Love

English: Tomatoes at a market. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is Valentine’s Day and I have been informed that gift to you was not very romantic. So I guess I need to try again. Love Apples are tomatoes; first brought to Europe by the Spanish in the 1400’s they were at first thought to be poisonous. This is not very surprising since they are related to Nightshade. They were beautiful though with their gold and red colors, so they were planted in gardens as ornamentals. This is where they received the name “Love Apple”. Tradition has it that they were given by young gentlemen to the ladies they fancied. A gift that some claimed had magical and aphrodisiac powers.



I‘m not sure about the aphrodisiac claim but Tomatoes are magical. They are one of the most widely cultivated crops in the world. Grown from their original home in South America to Japan in unnumbered varieties. Tomatoes are a now a staple of almost every type of Cuisine. From sandwiches to sauces tomatoes are one of our most consumed fruits or vegetables. Not a bad claim for something once thought to be poison.

Contrary to this belief we now know that tomatoes are both healthy and delicious. Containing zero cholesterol, very little fat and only 18 calories per 100 grams they are an excellent diet food. They are very high in vitamin content especially vitamins A and C and moderately high in B complex vitamins. The best health news about tomatoes though may be that they are also high in Zea-xanthin and Lycopene both of which have been found to fight and help prevent a number of cancer types, all this and still delicious.

July's Tomato Haul (Photo credit: statelyenglishmanor)

Below is my second Valentines Gift for you, a simple vegetable dish both healthy and simple to make. Before someone calls me on it, According to the US Supreme Court, Tomatoes are a vegetable when cooked and a fruit when raw. You figure that one out.