Tis the season, the tomato season that is. Those long awaited, juicy, red, ripe, delicious, splendiferous, love apples that you slice, dice, sauté', puree, and put up for sauces are just starting to come in. For me, it means I get to have my dad's favorite "sangwich"—sliced tomatoes with just a sprinkle of salt, good crunchy Italian bread and mayonnaise. OMG!! Pure heaven!
If your lucky enough to be from Highwood, the gardens in your backyard are overflowing with everything from figs, avocados, 6 foot long zucchini growing from the roof of your garage and hundreds of every type of tomato plants imaginable. And if you're from Highwood, you're walking through aisles of tomato plants, hunting for that one perfectly perfect, fabulously magnificent, ruby red tomato to enter into the Highwood Historical Society's Totally Terrific Tomato Contest.
The delivery of that perfect plum or cherry tomato is not a chance happening. Growing a tomato... a ruby red, ripe, outstanding tomato is an enormous accomplishment. It requires weeks and weeks of dancing with the water gods, pruning and plucking unwanted tomato shoots, inspecting each plant for leaf curl and shielding tomatoes from the dreaded sunscald. When Highwood's gardeners submit their tomato, they are submitting a crown jewel.
Every year the numbers of participants in the Terrific Tomato Contest grows. This year the tradition of Highwood gardening and participants extends to many of Highwood's youngest. That "Katy Scarlett" love of the land starts early in Highwood. We are expecting over 100 entries this year. We expect the bragging to be extensive. We know how much fun everyone has. Choosing the tomato, entering it and voting for the People's Choice. Every year we hear from our growers that they don't have a tomato... then they show up with a beauty!! We think its just a ploy to persuade their neighbor not to enter. It's a competition after all. And EVERYBODY wants to win!
Highwood residents and Highwood Historical Society members understand the bragging rights that come along with winning the annual contest. Some past winners have included Tony Vole, Alfio Fabri, John Cioni and Bill Cora. They earned the right to brag (and we hope they did!) Besides bragging rights, winners of the Most Terrific Tomato in Town and the extraordinarily popular People's Choice award win $100 gift certificates to one of two of Highwood's most delicious gourmet stores, Pastificio or Poeta's. Highwood KNOWS good food. Highwood KNOWS fresh, delicious, homegrown. When the "farm to table movement" was just a glimmer in some chef's linguistic vocabulary, Highwood residents (and restaurants) were celebrating that lifestyle with fabulous feasts from backyard gardens everyday of the summer and throughout the year, with canned and prepared sauces and culinary delights.
If you haven't already entered the competition (you must be a Highwood Resident or Highwood Historical Society member to participate) call or text 224 300 8974 (name, address, phone number.) Don't delay. Enter your tomato today! You've earned the right. And don't forget to vote for the People's Choice. The Terrific Tomato Contest is Wednesday, August 14 at Celebrate Highwood's Garlic Fest. Tomatoes are picked up on Tuesday evening, August 13th. Professional judges judge the tomatoes in the blind. Attendees at the Garlic Fest vote for the People's Choice Tomato. Remember, do not pick that tomato until the tomato team arrives! See you on the 13th to pick up your tomato and the 14th at the contest. Consider yourself challenged! ENTER TODAY.
