Tomato season!

I stopped by our local market yesterday, and was amazed at all the tomatoes. There were tomatoes everywhere: small boxes of cherry tomatoes, tables heaped with golden tomatoes, more tables with "field tomatoes" (the kind that don't look as pretty, but make wonderful sauce or juice), and baskets of plum tomatoes.

I grew up eating tomato sandwiches for lunch, helping my grandmother pick ripe tomatoes from her garden (and eating them straight from the garden), canning tomatoes with my grandmother, freezing tomatoes with my mom (never a fan of the long, hot canning process, she favored freezing), and teaching my children to pick and eat cherry tomatoes when they were little. Can you tell I love tomatoes?

Tomatoes are one of the best sources of lycopene, a phytochemical that helps prevent prostate and other types of cancer, and may even help prevent hardening of the arteries. Did you know that tomatoes are also high in vitamin C? Tomatoes, like all vegetables, are also good sources of fiber.

August is prime tomato month in my area. Sure, tomatoes are available in grocery stores year round, but they just don't taste as wonderful as just-picked tomatoes. Do your taste buds a favor, and enoy fresh tomatoes this month!