Summer Fest: Fresh Tomato Salsa

It's tomato week at Food Network's Summer Fest!  This week, we'd like to share with you our recipe for Fresh Tomato Salsa (see below) and talk a bit about this famous summer fruit and popular condiment.The use of tomatoes as food dates back to the ancient Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans, who made an art of both cultivating tomatoes and of combining tomatoes and peppers with spices.  Indeed, the word "salsa" means "sauce" in Spanish, though the term wasn't coined until the 16th century, prior to which the Europeans mistakenly believed the fruit to be poisonous. (Tomatoes are part of the nightshade family of plants, many of whom are indeed less than wise to eat.) It's hard to imagine a summer or a diet without tomatoes.Tomato varieties come in red, pink, purple, orange, yellow, green, brown, striped, and mottled. There are those best suited for slicing or making pastes; some are better for drying in the sun or being eaten straight off the vine, whole, like grapes. Some grow small and round, or large and lumpy, with an almost endless list of shapes and sizes in between.These days, more and more people are growing heirloom varieties with exotic names like Cherokee Purple, Livington's Golden Queen, Stupice, and Green Zebra. Each year, more "modern" varieties are developed, such as Better Boy, Juliet, and Fourth of July.Tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamins C, A, and K and a very good source of potassium and fiber. The lycopene in tomatoes can help to protect us from a variety of cancers, whether consumed fresh or cooked or juiced, or even as ketchup. There is some evidence that combining tomatoes with healthy fats (such as olive oil or those that are found in avocados) offers extra cancer-fighting protection. Adding this super-fruit to our list of things to eat more of can help to lower cholesterol and prevent strokes and heart disease.Our recipe for Fresh Tomato Salsa is simple, healthy, and flavorful.  Our time-saving "secret sauce" is actually our Roasted Vegetable Seasoned Cooking Base, which we make using slow-roasted onions, celery, carrots, bell peppers, garlic, and traditional Southern spices.  Please feel free to try the basic recipe using your own combination of spices, instead.Enjoy! Serves: 8 Size: 1/4 cup

Ingredients

1 lb. fresh ripe tomatoes1 tablespoon olive oil1 lime, juiced1 tablespoon water1 tablespoon Glory Foods® Roasted Vegetable Seasoned Cooking Base1 tablespoon cilantro, fresh and minced2 tablespoon red onion, minced1 tablespoon green onion, sliced1 tablespoon jalapeño pepper, minced, fresh or pickled (add more if you like hot salsa!)

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water (about 2 to 3 qts.) to a boil. Drop the tomatoes in the water for 15 to 30 seconds. Remove the tomatoes and immediately plunge into cold water. Tomato skins should slip right off. Cut tomatoes in half and squeeze out all of the seeds. Cut the seeded halves in to a 1/2" dice and put into a bowl.
2. Squeeze the lime juice into a measuring cup. Add water, olive oil and Glory Foods® Roasted Vegetable Seasoned Cooking Base. Stir until the base dissolves. Pour this mixture over the tomatoes.
3. Add all of the remaining ingredients to the tomatoes and toss until well mixed.
4. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips or raw vegetables for dipping.

* * *What’s your favorite tomato recipe? Do you grow or can your own? Are you thinking of ways to add more to your diet?  Let us know in the comments, or join in the conversation on Twitter using the hash tag #cookingwith.Be sure to visit the other Summer Fest blog posts below for even more tomato recipes.  We're dying to try some of these, too!Big Girls Small Kitchen: Seared Chicken with Cherry Tomato Pan SauceHaute Apple Pie:Heirloom Tomato & Three Cheese TartWhat's Gaby Cooking:Zebra Tomato and Burrata CrostiniZaika Zabardast:Balsamic Roasted Tomato-Basil IceAnd Love It Too:Healthy Lunchbox - Garlic Tomato Basil Pesto Bruchetta Chez Us:Roasted Tomato SauceDaily*Dishin:Refreshing and Rustic - Tuscan Bread SaladDishin and Dishes:Tomato Tart TatinThe Purple Cook:Eggplant Parmesan Caprese SaladI Am Mommy:Tomato CruditeCooking With My Kid:Gluten-Free White Bean Chive Cakes with Heirloom TomatoesFN Dish:Easy Tomato AppetizersAdd a Pinch:Simple Caprese Salad SkewersSweet Life Bake:Salsa CrudaVirtually Homemade:Farfalle with Roasted Tomato Sauce, Bacon and Shaved RomanoDixie Chik Cooks:Tomato, Basil and Olive BruschettaThe Sensitive Epicure: Yemista - Greek Stuffed Tomatoes & Peppers with PotatoesMooshu Jenne:Sun Burst Tomato PastaNapa Farmhouse 1885:Book Club, Tomatoes and a Recipe for Chicken Provençal?Cooking With Elise:Tomato Parmesan BiscuitsFrom My Corner of Saratoga:Cooking from the Garden - Bruschetta PizzaFritos and Foie Gras:Tomato TerrineCreative Culinary: Fresh and Savory Tomato PieBig Apple Nosh:Caprese Salad/Tomato CarnageSpices and Aroma:Quick and Easy Paneer CurryZaika Zabardast:Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Breakfast Rolls