For The Love Of Tomatoes! Paradise Catering Grows More Than 40 Varietal and More Than 500 Tomatoes

Aug. 27, 2013 - PRLog -- Press Contact:  Marci Bracco (831) 747-7455

For The Love Of Tomatoes!

Paradise Catering Grows More Than 40 Varietal and Has More Than 500 Tomatoes On The Vine

“There’s only two things that money can’t buy— And that’s true love and homegrown tomatoes.”

CARMEL VALLEY, CA – It is all about the love of tomatoes at Paradise Caterings Farm in Carmel Valley.  Owners Jon and Nancy love of those bright red and yellow fruit that weight their vines with the best of summer’s cargo, that have a smell in the garden unlike any other—a kind of earthy sunshine smell, is all glowing in their 1 acre garden of delight.

Tomato Love Stories Contest

Jon and Nancy love tomatoes.  Do you?  Share you tomato story on Paradise Caterings Facebook page throughout the month of September.  Post a photo from your tomato garden.  Share a recipe idea.  Write a poem.  Or submit your entry to marci@chatterboxpublicrelations.com.  The winning poem will receive a $50 Visa Gift Card.  Entries accepted until September 30, 2013.

For The Love Of Tomato’s

How do I love thee, tomato? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and might
My palate can reach, when remembering out of sight
Your peak month of August, when you bear fruits of juicy

At Paradise Catering, Jon and Nancy believe it’s no secret that a tomato tastes best fresh-picked in full sunlight, still warm, the garden soil crumbling beneath your feet.   There are currently more than 40 varietals growing at Paradise Catering in the elusive Indigo Rose a black tomato.

Here are some to the varieties you will see when you step into the garden at Paradise Caterings Farm.

·          BWPS

·          Indira Ghandi

·          Black From Tula

·          Hippy Zebra

·          Cherokee Purple

·          Black Bear

·          Chocolate Vintage

·          Zapotec

·          Kellog’s Breakfast

·          Big Rainbow

·          Aunt Ruby’s German Green

·          Black Krim

·          Indigo Rose

·          Ananas Noir

·          Black Krim

·          Sun Gold

·          Indigo Rose (Jen this is a black tomato use photo for newsletter)

·          Aunt Ruby’s German

·          Green Envy

·          5 Zapotec

·          Tye Dye

·          Japanese Black Trifele

·          Yellow Ruffles

·          Blue Fruit

·          Chocolate Stripe

Here are some tomato fun facts:

·          Americans eat an average of 80 pounds of tomatoes -- each -- every year

·          Tomato in French, pomme d'amour, means "love apple," because the heart-shaped fruit was regarded as an aphrodisiac

·          Fruit or Veggie? If you want to be technical about it, a tomato is, in fact, a fruit since it is the ripened ovary of a seed plant. But for those of you who like to insist that tomatoes really act more like a veggie, well you'll be glad to hear about the U.S. Supreme Court case of NIX v. HEDDEN (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US...), which took place in 1893.  The case was over, you guessed it, whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable -- and the Supreme Court ruled that tomatoes were to be considered vegetables.

·          Tomatoes are Super Healthy.  Aside from being rich in vitamins C, A and K, tomatoes contain lycopene (http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/11/02/eight_key_nut...), a carotenoid with potent antioxidant and cancer-fighting properties. Lycopene protects cells from oxygen damage, fights colorectal, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic cancers, and reduces your risk of heart disease.

Background on Paradise Catering:

On the Paradise Catering farm in Carmel Valley, Jon and Nancy embrace the seasons and grow unusual and heirloom vegetables, including:
- Tomatoes, squash, peppers and beans (from seeds purchased in their travels)
- Various lettuces grown to color
- Herbs including Absynthe
- Greens and garnishes ettavers to decorate their presentations
- 100 Zinfandel vines, to make their own wine
- 10 varieties of citrus trees (have you ever seen a Buddha’s hand?)
Their farm also houses a few fanciful touches, including unusual succulents (Monsters and Crests), giant Staghorn ferns, the infamous “Pink Apples”recovered from Earthbound Farm, working greenhouses, and an adult tree house.
Jon and Nancy love to buy rare seeds wherever they travel, growing them in their greenhouses to bring rare specialties to their clients. For example, Jon found Orchidea Cicoria (orchid-colored radicchio) during a trip to Umbria, Italy, in 2009. Also, heirloom tomatoes are an ongoing passion: They always participated in the Carmel TomatoFest and love to seek out unusual tomatoes not found in markets. This years, “Indigo Rose” has blue foliage!

The kitchen at Paradise Catering generates a lot of compost, which it uses to enhance the farm’s soil.“If you think about it, that’s a huge plus. It means that we peel and process tons of vegetables and fruits,” said Jon. “We believe this says loads about our focus on serving fresh, unprocessed foods, as well as our commitment to minimizing our footprint.”

Over the span of their careers, Jon and Nancy have cooked intimate dinners for two or at large festivals for 2,000 people. “At Paradise Catering we know the value of good food and its importance in your event,” said Nancy. “We can cater your event in any type of venue, from indoor to outdoor; and in any style, from plated to buffet to family style.”

At Paradise Catering, there are no set menus. Instead, Jon and Nancy meet personally with each client to plan a unique menu for any event.

For more information about Paradise Catering, go to http://www.paradisecater.com/ or call 831-659-3417. Follow Paradise Catering on Facebook for monthly contests and promotions http://www.facebook.com/paradisecatering.