TIP OF THE DAY: 10+ Good For You, Quick Sauces

We’re still in “New Year’s Resolutions Month,” and today the tip is good-for-you sauces. Perhaps you’ve already been cooking dinner regularly; or perhaps you’re trying to do more of it to avoid sugar-, salt- and fat-laden take-out food. One of the easiest ways to complete a simple home-cooked meal is to cover it with purchased…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Mixed Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad

So simple but so delicious, the Caprese salad (insalata caprese in Italian) layers slices of tomato and mozzarella di bufala* with fresh basil. The dressing is a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The salad is named after the Italian island of Capri, where it was widely popularized in the 1950s following its “discovery”…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Add Color To Each Plate Of Food

How bland would the fish and asparagus look without the tomatoes? Photo courtesy Galli Restaurant | New York City.   Did you ever wonder why some restaurants throw slices of hard, tasteless tomatoes into a salad? The simple answer is: to add color, which makes the dish look more appetizing. No matter how delicious a…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Edible Centerpiece

Use a bowl or basket of heirloom tomatoes as an edible centerpiece. Heirloom tomatoes are grown from seeds of older tomato cultivars—tomatoes that tasted great. The taste disappeared from most markets in the 1950s, after seeds were developed for mass production. The tomatoes can be found in a wide variety of colors, shapes, flavors and…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Ripen Tomatoes The Right Way

Keep ‘em on the counter. Photo by Nathalie Dulex | SXC. Never put tomatoes in the refrigerator: The cold kills their delicate flavor. If you’ve used half a tomato, it’s better to keep the other half covered in plastic wrap on the counter and consume it the following day. Tomato Ripening Tips You can ripen…
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