Few ingredients define the kitchen the way a tomato does. But in the summer, it becomes something more. To me, the tomato is a measure of a good summer—the simplest way to know if you’ve caught the season at the right moment. A good tomato means there was enough sun and enough time. It means something was grown close enough to be picked when it was ready, and that someone waited for just the right moment. People and nature are synchronized, and all is right in the world. A

From the ancient wisdom of some of our greatest forefathers of medicine—Hippocrates, Shen Nong, and the many Egyptian, Greek, and Roman lovers of food—one truth remains clear: what we eat has the power to heal. Our early champions of powerful food are legendary for initiating using food as medicine to sustain health, prevent illness, and support healing so I’m pretty sure they would be very excited that we now have the hard science supporting what nature has always provided.