Tomatoes

Back in 1988, newlyweds and Harford County natives Paula and Tom Harman decided they wanted to grow two acres of sweet corn and about 50 tomato plants on their home farm in Churchville. The fruits of their labor were more than two people could eat, so they set up a little cart along the side of the road. “We sold corn and tomatoes. Unbelievably, people came to us,” says Paula. “Each year after that, we grew a little bit more and expanded the variety of what we grew.” Thus, Harman's Farm Market was born.

Whatever Punxsutawny Phil predicts today, we can rest assured that there's more cold weather ahead. And, as we all know, cold weather calls for comfort food. Actually, any excuse for comfort food will do, but setting out to prepare tummy-warming fuel for body and soul is particularly satisfying this time of year. Without getting into what defines comfort food for each person, some kind of pasta, aka noodles, makes the Top 10 list for virtually everyone on the planet - or at least this half of it. And since we welcome the opportunity to heat up the kitchen, some kind of baked pasta dish seems to smack of nirvana.

Sylvia Fox from Randallstown was looking for the recipe for the Tomato Florentine soup that she said is frequently available at the salad bar at the North Charles Street location of Eddie's of Roland Park. Since she lives some distance from the store, she was hoping to get the recipe so that she could make this tasty soup at home. I contacted Eddie's, and it graciously shared the recipe. Owner Nancy Cohen believes that the recipe came from one of her chefs who had once worked at the venerable Haussner's restaurant and that it may have been served there.

A toad lunged at me while I was weeding our bean patch, and the encounter startled both of us. A toad was the last creature I expected to see in our garden, because except for a puddle or two, there's no water on the property, and toads require places with vegetation in close proximity to water for breeding purposes. And in the decades that I've lived on the property, I've only seen toads twice before. The eastern American toad ( Bufo a. americanus ) left in a hurry. After all, I'm a giant by comparison to its overall length of 4 inches, and a potential predator.

When I reached for one of this season's final tomatoes, I got a surprise. It had bruised and was emitting white foam. In another time and place, that tomato, as injured as it was, would have gone into the stewing caldron. Bruised, soft, mushy, reject tomatoes found a welcome at our Guilford Avenue home. September was our ketchup-making month. This was a house where my grandmother and her sister made so much from scratch, from their own clothes to their laundry and kitchen soap.

When the days grow short and the first frost sets in, there are certain things some people look back at with longing. Such as home-grown tomatoes. That's why the ninth annual Carroll County Master Gardeners' Heirloom Tomato Festival, held Aug. 20 at the Carroll County Agriculture Center, in Westminster, was seen by many attending as the perfect splashdown for celebrating the waning days of August and the splendor of home-grown, heirloom tomatoes. An heirloom tomato is considered to be a variety passed down through generations of a family.

The Meadowbrook Tomatoes defeated the Padonia Park Pooh Bears to go unbeaten in the Central Maryland Swim League Division I. It was the second consecutive year the Tomatoes were solo champs of the division after sharing the title with Watermont and Padonia in 2009. Meadowbrook, Padonia, Dulaney, Springlake and Roland Run all sent swimmers to the Straehle Invitational on July 27. Below are the top-five finishers at the Straehle from local teams: Dulaney Dolphins 8-and-under girls- Lily Mead, 1st 25 fly, free, breast.

Think of the worst movie you know.  "Gigli"? Terrible. It got a 7 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  "From Justin to Kelly"? Just as bad: 8 percent approval rating.  "The Hottie and the Nottie"? Even worse: 5 percent. Well, Sarah Palin's movie is apparently worse than all of these.  Yes, the glowing documentary about Palin, "The Undefeated," is scoring the worst rating possible on Rotten Tomatoes: 0 percent.  It's worse than Paris Hilton, "America Idol" and Bennifer's most embarrassing efforts.  I mean, no one thought it would be good, but is it possible it's actually worse than the most terrible movies of all time?

Pardon our puffed up chests, but Maryland is going to be well represented in the NCAA lacrosse championship contests this weekend. The men's team from the University of Maryland has surprised the experts by making it to the Final Four for Division I teams, and the Salisbury University team will be vying with the Tufts University team for the Division III title. Fittingly, these contests will be played in the heart of lacrosse country, at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium. Meanwhile, up in Stony Brook New York, the women from the University of Maryland will be defending their title as the best female Division I college team in the nation.

Giant Food said today it is recalling vegetable snack packages made by Mann Packing that contain celery, carrots and tomatoes. The grape tomato ingredient in the packages may be contaminated with Salmonella. The packages impacted have best if used by dates ranging from May 9, 2011 – May 16, 2011. The packages are 8.75 oz and have the code: UPC 71651901501 Giant Food has received no reports of illness associated with consumption of this product. Customers who have purchased the product should bring any unused portions or their purchase receipt to any store for a full refund.