Now they are growing melons, tomatoes, onions and aubergines, and they raise ducks as well as chickens.

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In their most popular form, guacamole, they are mashed with salt, lime, garlic and cilantro and chiles and tomatoes, depending on the recipe.

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They are a thinking person's dish, conjuring up old food memories such as tomatoes, lemon and basil, or red peppers, but delivering them in a surprising, new package.

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Bad looking tomatoes or squash rot in the fields or are never picked at all because they are not at the right ripeness when pickers come through the fields.

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Mr. Kraner declined to say how much they paid, but said they only buy tomatoes that can't be sold for human consumption, which are cheaper than those that can be sold at full market price.

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