eat well: to...mato with love

The following post was written by my mom, WWW. Thanks mom!

You don’t have to read the book Tomatoland to know that modern industrial farming practices have ruined the tomato. One can tell just by looking at or tasting the hard, flavorless and anemic distant cousins of what our grandparents called tomatoes. I have gotten to the point where I can’t even eat them—they repeat on me like raw onions. Yet I can devour homegrown or farmer’s market tomatoes like candy.

I don’t buy a lot of canned foods, preferring to cook with fresh, seasonal vegetables and dried beans, but during the winter months, canned tomatoes are pretty much a necessity if you cook with tomatoes and don’t want to buy the freakish things piled in the produce isle. Recently, however, David told me that I should stop buying tomatoes packaged in BPA lined cans. (Go here to find out why BPA’s are bad). And even though I know it’s impossible to live in a chemical free environment these days unless I move to, say, the moon, I like to eliminate as many chemicals as I can when new information becomes available.

Although baby bottles are now being made BPA free, most canned goods still have BPA linings. Even so, there are several companies who have made the switch or have never used BPA’s. Any tomato product in a jar is BPA free. San Marzano tomatoes (which many people believe to be the tastiest) have no BPA’s. Nor do Pomi tomatoes (which come in a box, not a can). Muir Glen has recently switched to BPA free cans. Look for a 2013 or 2014 expiration date since some cans are still on the shelves from before the switch. (When you open the Muir Glen can, if it is golden inside instead of white, it is BPA free).

Beans, rice, and chili from Eden Organics are BPA free but not their tomatoes. (For a list of other foods in BPA free cans look here.)

I decided to try a new recipe this week with my BPA free canned tomatoes. Inspired by last week’s Mardis Gras, I chose a traditional Cajun dish called Maque Choux. What intrigued me about this recipe is how easy it is. If you make it in summer, you can use all fresh ingredients, but it tastes absolutely delicious using canned tomatoes, frozen corn, and frozen okra which makes it a perfect winter throw together dinner. And although the vegetables are traditionally braised in bacon grease and often shrimp or sausage are added, the dish stands on its own as a delicious and satisfying vegetarian meal. I used hickory-smoked olive oil to give it a musky flavor, but you could use regular olive oil (and a little bit of liquid smoke if desired). Or grate some smoked cheddar or gouda on top.

Maque Choux

2 T hickory-smoked olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

½ t salt

1 T pressed garlic

1 fresh Anaheim chile, minced (or ½ chopped green bell pepper)

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels

2 cups frozen sliced okra

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes (BPA free, of course)

1 ½ cups black-eyed peas (frozen or canned)

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)

¼ cup water

1 t salt-free meat seasoning (rub for steaks and chops)

1 t dried oregano

¼ t dried thyme

1/8 t ground black pepper

Chopped scallions

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan on medium heat. Add the onions and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened, about 7 minutes.

2. Add the garlic, celery and chiles (or peppers) and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the corn, okra, tomatoes, black-eyed peas, water, and seasonings.

... Cover and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often. Taste and correct seasoning if necessary.

3. Serve topped with scallions over rice or quinoa.

with quinoa and a side of squash

it's also delicious served solo

***

Enjoy!

Love,

WWW