By Mike Donahue
Moapa Valley Progress
Sweet tomatoes, delectable salsas and pleasant company converged in near perfect harmony for the 3rd Annual Heirloom Tomato and Salsa Tasting event last Saturday at Quail Hollow Farm CSA (community supported agriculture).
More than 100 people gathered off North Anderson Street in Overton to sample and judge nearly 40 different delicious heirloom tomato varieties of the almost 70 Laura and Monte Bledsoe grow on the farm. Unfortunately, several varieties of tomatoes were not ripe enough for the event because of the crazily fluctuating temperatures Moapa Valley has experienced this spring.
Nevertheless, Saturday was a typical, toasty early summer day and many different ripe varieties were arranged under a tent in two dazzling multi-hued rows that elicited ohhs and ahhs from attendees who used toothpicks to delicately select small tastes of the vegetables.
“This is really all about having fun, having a good time, and enjoying these wonderful varieties of tomatoes,” Laura said. “It’s about the colors, the shapes, the flavors of all the different varieties.”
Tomato varieties included Brown Berry, Gold Meadow, Green Zebra, Marz Round Green, Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge and Zapotek Pleated among many others.
“Believe it or not there was a three-way tie for first place and not one was a traditional, typical red,” Laura said. “The winners were Amana Orange, Amish Gold Paste and Yellow Grape Golden Sweet. The two second place winners were Cherokee Purple and San Marzano Romas.”
Laura explained that Quail Hollow Farm is dedicated to promoting and modeling the small family farm using organic, sustainable farming methods. In return for shares sold by Quail Hollow, participants receive weekly reusable baskets of produce that includes 30 different vegetables, depending on the season.
In addition to the tomato tasting, some attendees entered homemade salsas that were judged in three classes, mild, hot and unusual.
Bob Howald and Kristin Sande, owners of Valley Cheese and Wine, 1770 W. Horizon Ridge Pkwy., in Henderson, donated $50 gift certificates for the winner in each class.
All the winning entrants are Moapa Valley residents and they include Blake Monk in the mild category; Patty McGinnis for her hot salsa, and Rita Gettle who won for an incredible salsa verde that had everyone asking for more.
Upcoming events at Quail Hollow Farm include a pumpkin pick and potluck dinner for shareholders in October and an annual seed exchange open to the public in December.
