The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum, formerly Lycopersicon lycopersicum) is a plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family, native to Central, South, and southern North America from Mexico to Peru. It is a short-lived perennial plant, grown as an annual plant, typically growing to 1-3 m in height, with a weak, woody stem that usually scrambles over other plants. It is a close relative of the potato.
The leaves are 10-25 cm long, pinnate, with 5-9 leaflets, each leaflet up to 8 cm long, with a serrated margin; both the stem and leaves are densely glandular-hairy. The flowers are 1-2 cm across, yellow, with five pointed lobes on the corolla; they are borne in a cyme of 3-12 together. The fruit is an edible, brightly coloured (usually red, from the pigment lycopene) berry, 1-2 cm diameter in wild plants, commonly much larger in cultivated forms.
The word tomato derives from a word in the Nahuatl language, tomatl.
So many ways to chill Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:20:07 -0700 This May 2007 article argued that you can dress 'em up or dress 'em down, but one thing is certain: In a quick and easy salad or an elegant, four-part dessert, cucumbers are simply the coolest things around.
Who doesn't love a cucumber?
Cookbook politics: Democrats, Republicans in the kitchen Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Out on the fringes of the campaign trail, the partisan cookbook is a perennial candidate. Want a cookie?
"NOT ONLY do I eat, I also am a Democrat," wrote Frank Sinatra in an intro to 1960's "Many Happy Returns: The Democrats' Cook Book, or How to Cook a G.O.P. Goose" (the sales of which helped buy TV air time for candidates). "Not only should every Democrat own a copy of this book, but he should load up all his or her friends, and even smuggle some copies into Pasadena and other points where the enemy is strong and square."
Los Angeles taco trucks can stay put again Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700 A judge overturns a recent county supervisors' rule limiting how long the mobile food vendors can remain parked in one spot.
Taco trucks are back in full force -- at least for now.