Cooking in the Garden State: Summer in Jersey - Old Fashioned Stewed Tomatoes

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Summer in Jersey - Old Fashioned Stewed Tomatoes

New Jersey is timeless in that some things will always remain the same. For instance: Going "down the shore" will always be what Jerseyans say when they are going to the beach. Timeless in that we still have someone else pump our gas. (I love it!) "twentyregularcash" is said as all one word here! 😂😅 Using certain words and phrases that are only spoken here: the word "shoobie", which is a slang term for a tourist who visits the seashore for a day or part of the summer only. "jeechyet" 😂😅(Jersey for "did you eat yet?"), and one of my all time favorites, "Once a Jersey girl, always a Jersey girl." (You can take the girl out of Jersey, but you can never take the Jersey out of the girl!) Also timeless, is the phrase, "there is nothing like a Jersey tomato" which you have probably heard at some point. "Jersey tomato" is as prideful a phrase as "Jersey girl."

But what makes a "Jersey tomato" so special you may ask? The flavor obviously, but to get that flavor, most smaller and local farms, and home gardeners, don't grow the types of tomatoes that are for commercial use. Commercial tomatoes are bred for long distance shipping, and picked when they are not ripe. They are usually still green, and gases are used to give them their red color. If you are a local Jerseyan, you can get your tomatoes pretty much picked fresh off the vine at any road-stand, which will give you a far superior taste. So when making these old fashioned stewed tomatoes, I suggest you use Jersey tomatoes, and heirlooms at that!

What you will need: About 1 1/2 pounds of tomatoes - About 1/3 cup chopped onion - 1/4 cup chopped green peppers - 2 Tbsps. of sugar - 1 tsp. of salt - 1/2 tsp. of pepper

What to do: Cut the tomatoes into small pieces. Mix everything together. Put all in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover the saucepan. Simmer on low for about 15 minutes. Finished. Take those wonderful stewed tomatoes, and put them on top of some home-made mac and cheese or mashed potatoes, or whatever else you have a fancy to put them on. So simple to make, and oh so delicious.