Tomatoes make a healthy summer treat

• It's getting to be tomato season in the Mid-South.
• And boy, do we like our tomatoes.
• In any fresh market or grocery store produce aisle, you'll see folks picking through the tomatoes, looking for just the right ones.
• Not only do tomatoes taste great, but they are packed with nutrition.
• In just 25 or so calories in a medium tomato, you get about a third of the vitamin C you need in a whole day and almost half the daily requirement for vitamin A. In addition, tomatoes are high in lycopene and other phytochemicals that are widely thought to lower the risk of cancer.
• Interestingly, the vitamin C in tomatoes is especially high in the jelly-like substance that is found around the seeds.
• Also, the fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes that are available right now are twice as high in vitamin C as the ones grown in hothouses.
• We don't even have to talk about the taste comparison between luscious red ripe tomatoes and those spongy pinkish ones we find in the markets in midwinter.
• Today's recipe amplifies that delectable taste by adding a little salt, a pinch of sugar and a bunch of basil, along with other ingredients that together make for a beautiful and flavorful side salad.
• Or serve on French bread topped with shaved curls of Parmesan cheese, noted as optional in the recipe, for a light lunch.
• Notice that the recipe calls for soaking the onion slices in ice water before layering them in the salad.
• This technique helps to take a little of the bite out of the onion and makes them milder.
• If you want this to be a little heartier, serve it over salad greens and add grilled shrimp or chicken.