5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

You say "tomato," Chef Greg Elliott of Chicago's Lockwood Restaurant says "pass the heirloom."

As we previously explained, "heirloom seeds come from plants that have remained genetically unchanged and have been open-pollinated (by insects, birds, wind, etc.) for at least 50 – or some say 100 – years. This means no hybridizing with other varieties of plants."

'Maters that have stood the test of time? Let's definitely not call the whole thing off.

Five Reasons to Get Excited About Heirloom Tomatoes: Greg Elliott
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The great 19th century Russian poet, Alexander Pushkin was once moved to comment that "Every Georgian dish is a poem."

Anyone visiting the Republic cannot fail to notice what fine hosts the Georgians are. Whether its in a public restaurant or in the home, Georgians take great pride in their gastronomic heritage.

Georgians regularly meet to enjoy a supra - which means feast - where tables groan under the weight of traditional dishes like red bean stew (lobio), dumplings (khinkali) and chicken "tabaka."
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Joe Bastianich is a restaurateur, winemaker, author and a judge on the FOX series "MasterChef." An avid runner, Joe has competed in numerous marathons and triathlons and will be tackling his first full Ironman in Kona this October. With that experience in these two worlds, he offers The Chart's Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge community his thoughts on having satisfying meals while training.

Whether you are already athletic and looking to up your game with a triathlon, or are just beginning your journey on the road to getting fit, what you put in your body plays a big role in the performance you’ll get out of it.

We’ve been taught to think of food – especially carbs – as our enemy, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Food is what fuels our bodies, allowing us to physically push ourselves to reach our own potential for fitness and athleticism. But when we think about a diet to match a healthy active lifestyle, too often we mistakenly buy into the old adage that getting in shape means resigning to a bland and unsatisfying diet of meager proportions. For someone who’s spent their entire life in some of the best Italian restaurants in the country, bland, meager, and unsatisfying just isn’t going to cut it.

Read Athletes, please, eat the pasta!

Previously - Joe Bastianich's rock 'n' roll dreams

Editor's note: Since 2004, Shmuel Herzfeld has been the Rabbi of Ohev Sholom – The National Synagogue, the oldest and largest Orthodox synagogue in Washington, D.C. His first book will be published within a year, titled: The Relevance of the Torah for our Modern Lives.

The lower house of the Dutch parliament recently passed legislation that would ban ritual slaughter in accordance with both Jewish law, known as shechita, and Muslim law, known as halal. The legislation would require the stunning of animals before their slaughter, an act that is forbidden by Jewish law.

For Jews, this is a very emotional issue that cuts at the core of who we are.
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In Uganda, where grasshoppers are regarded as a delicious seasonal snack, the appetite for the crispy critters has created a booming informal trade that has turned some trappers into wealthy men.

"They were just something you found in the grass during the rainy season," explains Ugandan Lawrence Mawanda. "I didn't know they could be profitable."

But 10 years ago on a trip through the Masaka region, the 53-year-old lorry driver glimpsed a row of rusty oil drums lining the roadside and fitted with long corrugated aluminum sheets shimmering under powerful fluorescent bulbs.
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Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe.

• Wood-fired barbecue is hard, manual work - and it's a dying breed because of it. - Charlotte Observer

• Past their prime: Can cookbooks become out-of-date? - Casual Kitchen

• Your state's tipping point. - American Public Radio

• The Tour de France diet. Hope you like CLIF bars. - Esquire

• If we want to be able to feed ourselves in 2050, the UN suggests small-scale farming is the way to go. - Washington Post

Food says so much about where you’ve come from, where you’ve decided to go, and the lessons you’ve learned. It’s geography, politics, tradition, belief and so much more. World-renowned chef, author and Emmy winning television personality Anthony Bourdain visits Los Angeles' Koreatown in the next episode of "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown," airing Sunday, April 21, at 9 p.m. ET. Follow the show on Twitter and Facebook. This story ran in 2011, and we're sharing it again as Bourdain explores the role of food in Asian-American identity.

Eddie Huang is the chef of Baohaus in New York City and is working on a memoir which will be published by Random House. Follow him on Twitter @MrEddieHuang

Sundays are for Dim Sum. While the rest of America goes to church, Sunday School, or NFL games, you can find Chinese people eating Cantonese food. As a kid, there were a lot of Chinese traditions I couldn’t get into, but Dim Sum and Johnnie Walker were okay in my book. We’d wake up, put on our hand-me-down Polo shirts, and as Dad did his best Bee Gees on the Karaoke machine, we got ready for Dim Sum.
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Food says so much about where you’ve come from, where you’ve decided to go, and the lessons you’ve learned. It’s geography, politics, tradition, belief and so much more and this week, we invite you to dig in and discover the rich, ever-evolving taste of America in 2011. The week will culminate with a Secret Supper in New York City, and Eatocracy invites you to participate online starting Monday July 11th at 6:30 p.m. E.T.

You can tell a lot about a place from the kinds of vegetables (and fruits) eaten there. Crops vary from place to place, and growing season to growing season.

As part of the cultural census for CNN's Defining America, we took a look at the things people eat for dinner.

When we looked at the submissions that came in, it was interesting to see how the people who responded to the assignment were consuming different sorts of produce around the country.
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While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

Move over, Rover, and let apples turn over - July 5 is National Apple Turnover Day.

Instead of your boring morning cereal, slapping some just-like-Mom-used-to-make apple pie filling onto a sheet of puff pastry and folding it over makes the perfect portable pie.

This grandfather to the great American Pop-Tart has a long history, dating back to ancient times.  Different cultures experimented with sweet and savory fillings, but apple remains a classic favorite.
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We are utterly thrilled when readers want to hang out and talk – whether it's amongst themselves or in response to pieces we've posted. We want Eatocracy to be a cozy, spirited online home for those who find their way here.

Consider the daily Coffee Klatsch post as your VIP lounge – the primary comments thread for readers who'd like to chat about topics not related to the articles we're running. That way, everyone knows where to find each other, and each post's comments section remains on topic.
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