Call them food haiku. FoodBooks, a collection of nifty, thrifty, food-centric guides, are new from Learn Great Foods, an agri-tourism company based in Mount Carroll, Ill., and Bay View, Mich. Each book in the series contains 16 pages of information to answer commonly asked questions about a single food. 'The format is based on the questions that our guests ask during tours,' says Ann Dougherty, president of Learn Great Foods. The company takes guests to farms and other places to show them where food comes from -- food that they usually get to prepare and eat at the end of a tour. The first FoodBook, 'Tomatoes: Stories, Varieties, Recipes,' begins by explaining what tomatoes are and how they function in the garden, on the table and in the body. It continues with a story about tomatoes from Sweeter Song farm in Cedar, Mich., and follows with simple recipes from chefs and photos that identify some of the more popular varieties. The book ends with ideas for preserving tomatoes beyond the harvest. How many kinds of tomatoes exist? 'There are more than 4,500 heirloom tomato varieties, and more than 500 in popular use in the Americas,' the book tells us. Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable? Botanically, it's a fruit; however, legally, it's a vegetable, the book explains. Like a reduction sauce, FoodBooks deliver as succinctly and potently as possible the essential 'flavors,' as Dougherty calls them, of each food -- its origins, its place today, how to identify it at the farmers' market and what to do with it once you get it home. All the recipes have been tested on real people on the tours, and the books, it bears noting, contain some lovely food photographs. 'I especially like seeing food that is real,' Dougherty says. 'We have started calling packaged food `foo' -- food that isn't quite complete. I like to see real food `in situ' -- at the farm -- to remember where it comes from. And, as an engineer, I like to see pictures that show how it is planted, or harvested, and the people who perform these actions, to see the whole process. We have tried to `show the story' in these books.' FoodBooks available now cover tomatoes, fish, asparagus, herbs and buffalo. In August, Learn Great Foods expects to have books about beef, eggplant, lettuce and pumpkins/squash. The books are $5 each and are available at a wholesale price in bundles of 25 to farmers' markets, farm-market shops, natural foods stores and as a fundraiser item for non-profits. 'We have been surprised at a really positive response from farmers' market managers and farmers who have been calling to order them this last month with just a few e-mails we have sent out,' she says. 'The FoodBooks seem to fill a need with their style and simplicity.' You can buy Learn Great Foods FoodBooks at its booth June 14-15 during the Healthy Living Fair in Rock Island, Ill. Summer Salad with Fresh Dill 2 tomatoes, chopped 1 cucumber, peeled and chopped 1 sweet onion, chopped 1 bell pepper, peeled and chopped 1/3 cup sour cream 1/3 cup mayonnaise 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped Salt and pepper, to taste Slice tomatoes in half, sprinkle with salt and invert on a paper towel for 15 minutes. Chop. Chop cucumbers; place in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Let stand 15 minutes; pat dry with paper towels. In a medium bowl, toss sweet onion, tomatoes, cucumber and bell peper. In a small bowl, blend sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, dill and salt and pepper, to taste. Mix the sour cream sauce with the veggies and serve. Recipe by Chef Donna Duvall, Food Fancies, Bellevue, Iowa, included in 'Tomatoes: Stories, Varieties, Recipes,' by Learn Great Foods.
