Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 8, 1992 TAG: 9201080144
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Toni Burks
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
REFRIGERATION HURTS FLAVOR OF TOMATOES
Vegetables from the backyard garden are merely a delicious memory, and if you find yourself cussin' and fussin' about tasteless winter tomatoes, then you - and restaurant kitchens - could probably use some help.The fruits and vegetables that you buy at the supermarket at this time of the year can't really compete with what you might grow in your own garden, but you can add some flavor to tomatoes if you follow a vital suggestion: Keep tomatoes out of the refrigerator.
Right now, tomatoes from Florida are being picked at the mature green stage, when they are hard so they can withstand shipping. When they get to the supermarket, they usually have reached the pale pink stage - and still hard and tasteless.
If they have not been refrigerated below 55 degrees for more than six hours, the tomatoes will continue to ripen. Of course, you have to trust the shipper as well as the produce workers at the supermarket on this.
The Florida Tomato Committee, which represents commercial growers, suggests that consumers ask produce workers if tomatoes have been refrigerated. The tomatoes should not be displayed in a refrigerated bin either.
When you get the tomatoes home, store them at room temperature for a few days until they turn dark red, soften and develop flavor. Then they're ready for serving.
By the way, the committee says you can tell if tomatoes have been refrigerated somewhere along the way from field to supermarket. They may still turn red, but they'll go from hard to mush without any flavor development. \ MICROWAVE IT Best-loved among microwave foods is the piping hot baked potato. You can have steaming spuds in their jackets about four times faster than their conventionally baked counterparts. Top them off with spunky chicken-tomato sauce, and you've got a fast and filling family meal.
Potatoes cacciatore
4 medium baking potatoes (6 to 8 ounces each)
1 medium zucchini
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsps. water
1 9-oz. pkg. frozen chopped cooked chicken
1 8-oz. can stewed tomatoes, cut up
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
3/4 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Scrub potatoes. Prick them several times with a fork. Arrange potatoes on a microwave-safe plate. Cook, uncovered, on high (100 percent power) for 13 to 16 minutes or until tender, rearranging once. Let stand while preparing sauce.
Cut zucchini lengthwise into quarters, then into 1/4-in. thick slices (about 2 cups). In a 1 1/2-qt. microwave-safe casserole combine zucchini, onion, garlic and water. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes (low-wattage oven: 6 to 8 minutes) or until vegetables are tender, stirring once. Drain. Stir in chicken, stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce and Italian seasoning. Cover and cook on high for 5 to 7 minutes (low-wattage oven: 7 to 9 minutes) or until heated through.
Split open potatoes. Mash potato centers slightly with a fork. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce on top. Sprinkle with cheese. Makes 4 servings. - Associated Press\
HELP!!! DEAR SOS: My daughter lost her recipe for rice pudding made with sweetened condensed milk. Can you help? - ELIZABETH
DEAR ELIZABETH: Certainly. If you don't have a double boiler use two saucepans, the larger of the two for the bottom half. Fill the bottom pan with enough water to come half way up top pan.
Rice pudding
1/2 cup uncooked rice
3 cups boiling water
1/2 tsp. salt
1 15-oz. can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated)
3 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp. vanilla
Combine rice, boiling water and salt in top of double boiler. Cook over rapidly boiling water until rice is tender, about 40 minutes. Stir in sweetened condensed milk, butter and raisins. Cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Serve warm or cold. Makes 8 servings. - Los Angeles Times
\ SWEET STUFF It would probably be good for us (and our teeth, and our weight) if we didn't like sweet flavors so much, but this liking appears to be a particularly human characteristic, right from birth. Human milk is the second sweetest in the mammalian kingdom (The sweetest: elephant milk). - Los Angeles Times\
EASY DINNER The most time-consuming part of a stir-fried dish is preparing all the ingredients that go into it. A tip: Do as much cutting and chopping as is practical ahead of time and refrigerate the ingredients until until just before cooking.
Hot and spicy broccoli stir-fry with shellfish and water chestnuts
1 3/4 lbs. broccoli, trimmed
6 ounces raw scallops, peeled shrimp or lobster meat
2 Tbsps. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. (heaping) shredded orange zest
1 1/2 tsps. dried hot pepper flakes (or to taste)
2 tsps. grated fresh ginger root
1 large garlic clove, grated or finely minced
1/2 cup orange juice
1 8-oz. can water chestnuts, drained, rinsed and cut into halves
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onion
1 1/2 tsps. sugar
1 Tbsp. tamari or other aged soy sauce
1 Tbsp. dark sesame oil
Cut off and separate broccoli florets into approximately 1-in. pieces; set aside. Peel trimmed stems and cut them into pieces slightly smaller than the florets. There should be about 6 cups of broccoli pieces. Cut shellfish into thin slices (small shrimp can be left whole).
Preheat wok or very large skillet over medium-high heat. When the metal is hot enough for a drop of water to sizzle and disappear, add vegetable oil. Heat 30 seconds. Add orange zest and pepper flakes, stirring constantly, until they turn dark brown, almost black (about 30 seconds). As soon as they do, stir in shellfish. By the time each piece is coated with the hot oil, shellfish will be done. Remove shellfish with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Stir ginger and garlic into remaining oil in pan. Add broccoli stems and orange juice. Increase heat to high. Cook, stirring constantly, 3 to 4 minutes. Add broccoli florets; continue to stir-fry until broccoli is bright green and tender-crisp, 3 to 4 minutes more.
Stir in water chestnuts, green onions, sugar and tamari. As soon as everything is hot again, return shellfish to pan. Add sesame oil. Give the mixture one more stir. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings. - Associated Press