Seeing red — Don't know what to do with all those fresh tomatoes? We can help

It's tomato time.

Forget about those tennis-ball textured things you buy during the winter at the grocery store. The tomatoes in local stands, farmers markets and your own garden are juicy and full of flavor. And you can find them in a huge variety — deep red; golden orange or yellow; round, oblong or pear-shaped; as big as softballs; as small as marbles.

Tomatoes have come a long way from their South American origins. They are thought to originate in Peru, where they grew wild, several thousands of years before making their way to Central America.

Historical accounts credit Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez with bringing the tomato to Europe from an expedition to Mexico, where his men observed the Aztecs using tomatoes as an accompaniment in their cannibal feasts.

The earliest tomatoes to arrive in Europe were yellow, according to "The Gourmet Atlas: Foods of the World" (MacMillan, $39.95). Europeans were suspicious of this new food, according to "The Random House Book of Vegetables," by Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix (Random House, 1993).

The relatives of the tomato Europeans were familiar with (the nightshade family) were poisonous. But somehow, tomatoes won over enough followers to acquire a reputation as an aphrodisiac — hence the term, "Love apple," Phillips and Rix write.

Thomas Jefferson grew tomatoes in his garden, but most Americans of his day thought it was suicidal to eat one raw. In the 1860s, "Godey's Lady's Book" warned that tomatoes should always be cooked for three hours.

So, it took awhile for people to realize the tomato's health benefits. A medium tomato is 35 calories. It provides 40 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C, 20 percent of the RDA for vitamin A, and it is a good source of potassium, according to the California Tomato Commission. It's also a good source of lycopene, an antioxidant carotenoid.

In addition, if you cook tomatoes in cast-iron skillets or Dutch ovens, some of the iron leaches into the food and contributes significantly to the iron content in the cooked foods.

EASY CREAMY TOMATO TART

The secret to keeping the dough from going soggy is to arrange the veggies on top, so their liquid evaporates during baking.

1 9-or 10-inch pie crust, unbaked

8 ounces garden vegetable or herb-flavored spreadable cheese (such as Alouette or Rondele)