Eating While Poor in Alabama
Tomato Picking in 1936, Courtesy of The New York Public Library
More stories from our ongoing series Eating While Poor.. This one from Alabama. In the 1980s A. L. Tommie Bass wrote, “these days’ people are always asking me how things have changed.” Bass had been an Herbalist near Lookout Mountain in Alabama. He goes on to say, “a big thing is, people don’t cook and garden so much like they did in my days.” For instance, Now the big farmer doesn’t even raise a garden, and then he claims he is going broke. . . You almost see more of them in the supermarket than you do people who don’t have a crop,” says Bass. If you planted a garden last spring, you most likely still have allot of tomatoes.
Spinach Stuffed Tomatoes Recipe
Ingredients
8 medium-size vine-ripe
tomatoes
20 ounces chopped spinach (fresh or frozen)
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 green onions, chopped
2 eggs or egg substitutes
3 tablespoons melted vegan or regular butter
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon Accent
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
Dash of hot sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
Cut tops from tomatoes and remove pulp, leaving shells intact. Reserve pulp for other uses. Sprinkle inside shell with salt. Invert to drain. Cook spinach according to package directions; drain well. Combine spinach and remaining ingredients; spoon into tomatoes. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.
