Best Tomato Contest Closed: Judge is Biased

Are you one of those people who never win a contest, even when there's a good chance of coming home with some sort of prize? My tomatoes feel your pain. This year's Favourite Tomato of the Season Contest closed before it opened because the first tomato I tasted knocked out the competition before they had a fighting chance. In fact, this judge is so enamoured with the instant winner that I'm now unapologetically biased and constantly patroling the veggie garden for ripe ones. I grew six types of tomatoes this year: Ultra Sweet, Better Boy, Lemon Boy, Sweet Chelsea, Sweet Gold, Health Kick. Yellow, orange, and red. Small, medium, and large. I intended to have a taste-testing event by this time to compare all the contestants and slowly and deliberately select my favourites with a discerning palette in order of greatness, but all plans have been thwarted by the irresistable, sweet, zingy taste of the Sweet Golds. In fairness, I should have two categories: the larger ones that are suitable for cooking and the smaller ones that are too seedy for anything but raw dishes. But fairness, schmairness! Nothing else matters. My career as a Tomoto Judge has come to a grinding halt. I have found all I need in this life. I pick them as fast as they ripen and generally eat every last one before I've even left the garden. Hence the fact that I can't keep one long enough to let it pose for an offical winning portrait without salivating like wild boar who missed it's last three meals (though you get a glimpse of one in the top photo (front) as it rolled toward my mouth--they're little like cherry tomatoes only sweetly perfect). I love them so much I dare not tell my family about them. They think I come in from the garden each day with a smile on my face because of my love of the outdoors. Not because I've just gobbled up a dozen of these delicious beauties. Yes, the other ones are fine...but they are not like Sweet Golds and according to the rules this means no other prizes can be awarded in this contest. This judge is happily settled in her ways. The other tomatoes have gone into some brilliant bruchettas and a few sauces, but these little Sweet Golds are perfect just as they are, straight from the garden, preferably warmed by the sun. Next year's contest will feature Sweet Golds and some new contenders. And given the incredible volume of tomatoes this year's tiny garden has produced, with the plans to extend the bed next year, I'm going to have to make arrangements to donate surplus to the FoodBank. Contest closed. Sorry, try again!

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