pittston tomato festival!

Transcription

Atlas Realty, Inc.
1550 Highway 315,
Plains Township
570-829-6200
570-829-6200
www.atlasrealtyinc.com
Charles Adonizio III
Broker, GRI, SRES
IT'S TOMATO TIME AGAIN!
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33rd Annual Pittston Tomato Festival
August 18-21, 2016
Pittston, Pennsylvania
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2 August 2016
2016 TOMATO FESTIVAL
Times Leader and Sunday Dispatch
Is it strange to celebrate a tomato?
I think not
New York City celebrates crying out loud!
Why not the tomato?
New Year’s Eve on Times
Growing up in Greater
Square.
Pittston, most families
Pasadena has the
had gardens in
Tournament of Roses
their backyards
Parade.
and a staple of
New Orleans has
those gardens
Mardi Gras.
was — you
In Greater
guessed it – the
Pittston, we
tomato. My
have the
dad’s father
annual
Pittston
My Corner, grew the most
Tomato Fes- Your Corner scrumptious,
delicious, tasty
tival.
tomatoes from
When
Tony Callaio
his yard.
the Tomato
It was
Festival
because of my grandfawas conceived
ther’s garden I fell in love
over 33 years
with tomato anything
ago, I wasn’t
— ham sandwiches with
sure what it was
tomatoes, garden salads
going to be like
with tomatoes, tomato
or if it would even
salads and my all-time
take off. After all,
favorite, a tomato sandwe were celebrating
wich with salad dressing
a tomato. A tomato, for
and pepper.
Festival history
Even though the festival
has been held at its current location for many
years now, people would
be hard pressed to recall
the original site. For
those of you too young
to know, the site stood
where Burger King and
CVS stand along Kennedy
Boulevard.
At that time it was just
a huge parking lot, which
made it a perfect spot for
a festival of any kind.
I can recall the first few
festivals were fairly well
attended. Vendors lined
the perimeter of the parking lot and a section was
set up in the center like
the food vendors of the
current site. There was a
bandshell set up on one
end for entertainment.
If you walked the old
layout, you essentially
went around in a circle
like you were driving the
Indianapolis 500 course.
It was a fun gathering.
Right from the early days,
it brought residents of
Greater Pittston out in
masses to celebrate, yes,
the tomato.
Move to Main Street
When it was announced
the festival was going to
move to its current location, I was a bit disappointed. I wasn’t sure if
the festival would have
the success at the new
location that it had at the
old one. It didn’t take
too long to realize I was
wrong in my thinking.
The two-tier layout
worked perfectly, with the
bandshell on the lower
level and the food vendors
Serving all of Luzerne County
Discover why over 17 million
homeowners trust State Farm®.
Len Mudlock, Agent
6 Brookhill Sq W
Sugarloaf, PA 18249
Bus: 570-788-1277
www.lenmudlockinsurance.com
With your new home comes new responsibilities - like protecting
your new investment with the right amount of homeowners insurance.
That’s where I can help.
Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®
CALL ME TODAY.
Office Relocating Soon: 647 State Route 93 Hwy, Sugarloaf
0907507.1
State Farm Fire and Casualty Company,
State Farm General Insurance Company, Bloomington, IL
on top. Even with the
new location, you could
still do a lap like at the
Indy 500, so that part
didn’t change a bit.
The festival will take
on yet another transformation now that there is
a permanent structure
built, named in honor of
Jimmy Zarra, that will
have a few additional
stands as well as the
familiar faces of the
Tomato Festival committee members at the helm.
So just when you think
the Tomato Festival
couldn’t get any bigger,
it will be. The current
organizers are always
thinking and planning
how the City of Pittston
can get bigger and better and benefit from the
event honoring the tomato. It is estimated that
50,000 people attend the
Tomato Festival each
year.
For 2017, a third tier
will be set up behind
the Pittston Memorial
Library where the parking lot has been wired
for vendor tents. That
same site has been
approved for a future
amphitheater as well.
Tomato events
The Tomato Queen
Scholarship Pageant
entrants are not limited to Greater Pittston
residents and there have
been many winners from
outside Pittston. Dr.
Joe Lombardo has been
the pageant emcee for
the last few years and
I believe he enjoys that
role.
The great tomato
fights held at Cooper’s
parking lot are legendary, and once and for
all, they do not use good
tomatoes for the fight. It
seems whether tomatoes
are being wasted is a
question that pops up
every year.
The Little Miss and
Mister Tomato contest
is always fun to watch.
Some children are very
shy and hide behind
their parents’ legs while
others are extremely
vocal and can be downright funny.
The Tomato Festival
5K race has been a popular race stop for many of
the area’s runners and
beyond. It’s very competitive and an extremely
challenging course that
crosses the Susquehanna
River twice.
Let’s not forget Sauce
Wars and the judging of tomatoes.
Who has the best
sauce in the area?
Who entered the
biggest tomato or
the ugliest tomato?
It’s all in fun, and
money is raised in
the effort as well.
How about the Tomato
Festival Parade broadcast each year on FOX56 with Pittston natives
Jane Adonizio and Lori
Nocito as parade hosts?
These ladies do a bang
up job and it shows that
they are really Pittston
proud. The parade is
getting so large, it really
rivals NEPA’s biggest
parade, Scranton’s St.
Patrick’s Day Parade.
Pittston proud
I think the forefathers
of the Tomato Festival,
August 2016
like the late Val Delia,
would be extremely
proud of the direction
the event has taken.
Perhaps in Val’s wildest
dreams he couldn’t imagine what a true gem and
feather in Pittston’s cap
that is produced each
and every year.
It’s pretty cool to think
that idea of the festival
received national acclaim
when it was written
about in the Washington Post in 2009. Yes,
the Pittston tomato has
indeed made an indelible
3
mark on northeastern
Pennsylvania.
So enjoy the 2016
festival. Listen to great
music, see who gets
crowned in the pageants,
cheer on your favorite
runner in the 5K race,
and watch family and
friends get pelted by
tomatoes and, above
all – Mangia! Eat up, my
friends!
Tony Callaio’s column My Corner,
Your Corner runs weekly in the
Sunday Dispatch. He can be
reached at [email protected].
4 August 2016
You say tomato, we say Pittston
33rd Pittston Tomato Festival gets underway Thursday
By Nick Wagner
[email protected]
Bill Tarutis File Photo | For Sunday Dispatch
The tomato festival lot was full of people
for opening night of a previous Pittston
Tomato Festival.
The Pittston Tomato Festival has
stood the test of time for 32 years.
From its original location on Kennedy
Boulevard to its current spot in the
Upper Tomato Festival Lot, the event
draws tens of thousands of spectators,
food testers and tomato fighters downtown.
With the addition of a special Tomato
Festival Committee building to this
year’s event, it doesn’t seem like the
festival is going to slow down any time
soon.
More than 50,000 people are expected
Tomatoes aren’t the only thing growing...
We are, too!
Wesley Village in Pittston continues to do what we do best -serve our community and our residents. What better way to grow
our services than by expanding, renovating, and offering more.
More space, more options, more service.
Call us today at 570-655-2891 for a visit and see growth in action!
209 Roberts Road | Pittston, PA 18640
www.UnitedMethodistHomes.org
in Pittston this week as the 33rd
Annual Pittston Tomato Festival gets
underway on Thursday. During the four
days of tomato fun, the Quality Tomato
Capital of the World offers something
for everyone.
The festival runs from Thursday, Aug.
18 to Sunday, Aug. 21 and is considered
one of the best and tastiest festivals in
Northeast Pennsylvania.
The festival features a plethora of
homemade American and ethnic food,
live entertainment, a gala parade, a 5K
run and fun walk, games, rides, beer
and, of course, home-grown Pittston
tomatoes.
The festival officially opens at 5 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 18 with an opening
ceremony set for 6 p.m. at the city’s
bandstand, followed by live entertainment by Windfall, AM Radio and Fake
Uncle Jack.
The festival continues Friday with
performances by the Phyllis Hopkins
Electric Trio, Fab 3 and Sweet Pepper
and the Long Hots.
Things really get going on Saturday.
The 5K Race and Fun Walk will begin
at 10 a.m. through the streets of downtown. Registration for the 18th annual
Miles for Michael/Pittston Tomato Festival 5K Run is set for 8:30 a.m. at the
Greater Pittston YMCA. The awards ceremony for the race will be at 11:30 a.m.
Following the race, at approximately
10:30 a.m., the parade will begin on
South Main Street and swing around
to Kennedy Boulevard. The parade
will be televised live on Fox 56. The
parade will start at the A-Plus Mini
Mart, continue through South Main
Street and down Kennedy Boulevard,
ending at the Cooper’s Co-op building.
Tomato Festival Grounds Supervisor and co-chairperson Jim Zarra will
serve as grand marshal.
Saturday also features the Tomato
Festival Queen Scholarship Pageant
from 1 to 2 p.m. and live entertainment on the bandstand throughout
the evening.
The biggest of all, however, just
might be the tomato fights in Cooper’s
parking lot. Hundreds of willing, and
unwilling, participants will line up on
either side of the parking lot and bombard each other with tomatoes. That
starts at 1:30 p.m.
The tradition of the tomato fights
began in 1944 in Bunol, Spain. Every
year, truckloads of tomatoes are
dumped into the town square and
everyone is fair game as they crush
and throw tomatoes at each other. The
Pittston Tomato Fights will be a bit
more organized, albeit still chaotic,
and truckloads of fun.
Danny Argo and Friends begin the
entertainment at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
They will be followed by Jump the
Train and 3 Imaginary Boys.
Proud to be a part of the
2016 Pittston Tomato Festival and
the Greater Pittston Community
Michael B. Carroll
Member, 118th
Legislative District
PA. House of
Representatives
42 Center Street
Hughestown, PA 18640
Phone: 570-655-4883
Phone: 1-800-894-0960
Fax: 570-655-9110
The Tomato Contest begins at 7
p.m. in the committee building. The
largest, smallest, ugliest and most perfect tomatoes will be judged.
Banana Hammocks, Eddie Appnel
and Flaxy Morgan will finish out the
entertainment on Saturday evening.
The Little Miss and Little Mister
Tomato Contest will be held from
10:45 a.m. to noon on Sunday. Entertainment will be another highlight of
the day on Sunday. Until the festival
closes at 10 p.m., local musicians will
be at the bandshell.
Sauce Wars is back and better than
ever. Last year’s champ was Grico’s
Restaurant of Exeter. Taste-testers can
vote for the best sauce throughout the
weekend at the Tomato Festival Com-
August 2016
5
mittee stand.
For another year, festival-goers
can bring their Dispatch Dollar (or
regular cash, of course) to the Sunday
Dispatch Booth 47 for a chance to win
several different prizes by spinning
a wheel. This year’s prizes include a
die-cast limited edition Chevy Camaro, featuring the Sunday Dispatch logo.
Prizes also include Sunday Dispatch
neon hipster sunglasses, frisbees,
water bottles and many others.
All money raised at the Dispatch
stand throughout the weekend will be
donated to the Care and Concern Free
Health Clinic.
Reach Nick Wagner at 570-991-6406 or on Twitter @
Dispatch_Nick
6 August 2016
Committee goes above and beyond
Submitted photo
CONGRATULATIONS
TO THE
PITTSTON TOMATO FESTIVAL!
Parrish Limousines
Pittston, PA
(570) 655-3737 / (570) 654-3681
Limousine Service For All Occasions
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PUC #A-22037
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Each year, this group
of dedicated Greater
Pittstonians put on quite the
party. Members of this year’s
Pittston Tomato Festival
Committee are, from left,
first row, Ben Tielle, Joan
McFadden, Jerry Mecadon,
Krista Mecadon, Gina
Miscavage, Nicole Sowinski,
Sheri Petrikonis and Lori
Nocito. Second row, Sal
Sciacca, James Deice, Judy
Deice, Jessica Linsky, Angel
Noone, Clairellen Hopple,
Theresa Colella, Ginger
Murphy, Kristina McHale and
Michael Lombardo. Third
row, Mike Sowinski, Tiffany
Ferentino, Brandi Bartush,
Tina Rava, Jeanie Bantell,
Joleen Lazecki, Lee Bantell
and Mike Lombardo.
August 2016
7
Little Miss and Mister to be named Aug. 21
Staff reports
Youngsters hailing
from Pittston and
beyond are invited to
compete to be crowned
Little Miss and Little
Mister Tomato Contest
beginning at 11 a.m.
Sunday, Aug. 21.
All contestants are
asked to be at the festival bandshell by 10:30
a.m.
The first category,
“Little Miss Pittston
Tomato,” is open to
girls ages 2 to 6 years
old. The second category, “Little Mister
Pittston Tomato,” is
open to boys, ages 2 to
6 years old.
The categories will
be judged with 50
points for beauty and
50 points for personality. The children are
asked to wear something they would wear
to a day at the Tomato
Festival.
One winner will be
chosen in each category with one runner-up.
Little Miss
Pittston
Tomato 2015
Krista Magyar,
of West
Pittston, left,
receives her
crown from
2015 Tomato
Festival Queen
Hannah
Kasko and
her sash from
2014 Little
Miss Tomato
Gabriella
Zambricki
during the
2015 Little
Miss and Little
Mister contest.
Entry fee is $5 and
prizes will be awarded.
Checks should be made
payable to the Pittston
Tomato Festival, Inc.
Deadline for entries is
Aug. 14.
Chairpersons for the
event are Judy Strelish and Angel Noone.
Questions should be
forwarded to Noone via
email at AngelPA5@
aol.com
Reach the Sunday Dispatch
newsroom at 570-655-1418 or
email [email protected]
8 August 2016
Constructing a change
Zarra to lead parade
By Nick Wagner
[email protected]
PITTSTON — As one of three cochairpersons to the Pittston Tomato
Festival, James Zarra’s hands are in
just about everything when it comes
to the annual event.
Zarra, the grounds supervisor for
the festival, can also be held responsible for what the City of Pittston looks
like today.
One of the original members of
Downtown Tomorrow, Zarra has
helped lay the Pittston landscape that
has been 20 years in the making. His
hard work and dedication to the city
has led to his most recent recognition.
Zarra, 54, a lifelong resident of
Pittston is grand marshal of the 33rd
annual Pittston Tomato Festival
Parade, which will be held at 11 a.m.
on Saturday, Aug. 20.
“I was shocked and honored by
it,” he said of being named grand
marshal. “I was honored by it and it’s
not something I would have thought
about — being recognized.”
Though his involvement with the
festival spans two decades, Zarra was
surprised to learn the committee had
chosen him for the honor. He currently serves as the grounds supervisor
for the festival.
“I’m more of a behind-the-scenes
kind of guy and nobody knows what
I do until it doesn’t get done,” he
laughed. “The Tomato Festival drove
the change of this area. It constantly
evolved into something and brought
in a positive attitude to the area.”
Starting a revitalization
At 26, Zarra was named the mayor
of Yatesville in 1988. After serving
two terms, he wanted to take a step
away from politics, but then-Pittston
mayor hopeful Michael Lombardo
convinced Zarra to stay on for another term. Zarra worked as Lombardo’s
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
James Zarra is an original member of Downtown
Tomorrow, where Pittston’s revitalization first
started.
campaign manager and later helped
revitalize the city.
Zarra would later run Mayor Jason
Klush’s campaign. He serves on the
City Redevelopment Authority and
as a Pittston representative for Wyoming Valley Sewer Authority, all while
installing kitchens for Habitat for
Humanity.
Zarra is now one of three co-chairpersons of the Tomato Festival, along
with Lori Nocito and Michael Lombardo. Nocito handles the public relations,
and Lombardo, assisted by his wife,
Susan, takes care of the vendors.
Zarra has a lot to do with the newest edition to the Tomato Festival — a
building owned by the city. The building, located on the south corner of the
Tomato Festival lot, will have four bays
for vendors along with a stage. It will
also house equipment used for the city.
“Seeing this town transform itself,
it’s not just sticks and bricks,” he said.
“It’s more of getting an attitude and
people to change.”
While Main Street has been a big
starting point for the city, Zarra and
his peers, with the help of the city,
will be looking to get funding into the
neighborhoods through the Neighborhood Housing Initiative. The goal is to
improve the overall appearance of the
neighborhoods by creating attractive,
livable, safe and desired housing.
The initiative is designed to reduce
the number of code deficient, vacant
and abandoned houses in Pittston’s
neighborhoods.
“What we do on Main Street is contagious and it gets people involved,”
Zarra said. “We want to get into the
neighborhoods with a stronger presence. When we did the Main Street
there was minimal funding for the
neighborhoods.”
Family roots in Pittston
The son of Vince and Marilyn Zarra,
who were affectionately called Lovie
and Bud, Zarra is a 1980 graduate of
Pittston Area. His first job was working for Sam Marranca’s construction
company in Pittston when he was 17.
He graduated from the Johnson College of Technology with a degree in
biomedical engineering. He earned his
bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from SUNY-Binghamton.
Following graduation, he worked as a
biomedical engineer at Penn State University for a year. Deciding it wasn’t a
right fit, he started at the QRS Corp.,
a biomedical equipment service and
repair company, and later dealt with
the technology behind personal computers and networking.
After owning that business for
around 20 years, Zarra then worked for
Wyoming Area School District starting
in 2000. Currently, he is an engineer
for Tammac Holdings Corporation,
which included the development of
the Arena Hub Plaza, Blue Ridge Trail
Golf Course and Hunlock Creek Sand
and Gravel.
When he’s not on the job, you’ll see
him combing the streets of Pittston
working on some sort of project. The
Tomato Festival building is his latest
endeavor.
Zarra is married to the former Rita
Solano, the daughter of Patrick and
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
James Zarra is working on constructing a city
building to be used for the Tomato Festival. The
building was recently named in Zarra’s honor.
Marie Solano. Zarra’s step-daughter,
Elizabeth McHugh, owns and operates Maxwell’s House, a pet resort in
Pittston.
Reach Nick Wagner at 570-991-6406 or on Twitter @
Dispatch_Nick
PAST PARADE GRAND MARSHALS
2015 - Tom Sewatsky
2014 - Rose Randazzo
2013 - Ray Preby
2012 - Jerry Mullarkey
2011 - Dr. Joseph Lombardo
2010 - Care and Concern Clinic
2009 - Biagio Dente
2008 - All volunteers, vendors,
performers and loyal festival attendees
2007 - Val Delia (posthumously)
2006 - The Joyce Brothers: John, Joseph,
William and David
2005 - Joseph Traviglione
2004 - Local officials: Mayor Michael
Lombardo, John Gavigan, Chris Latona,
Ken Bangs, Phil Campenni, Donna
Connors, Charles Infantino, Gerry
Mullarkey, Savino Bonita, Paul Porfirio,
Frank Roman and Tom Tigue
2003 - Rev. Robert Romano
2002 - Russell Gunton
2001 - Michael Marranca
2000 - Maria Capolarella Montante
1999 - Robert Conroy Sr.
1998 - John Grimes and Mae Reddington
McHugh
1997 - Arthur Bartolai
1996 - Albert Melone and Margaret
Labarre Daniels
1995 - Joseph Joyce
1994 - Samuel Falcone
1993 - Mayor Thomas Walsh
1992 - Michael Insalaco
1991 - Eleanor Adonizio and Dolly
Saporito
1990 - Joseph Amato
August 2016
9
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Entertainment schedule set for festival
THURSDAY, AUG. 18
5 p.m. - Festival opens
6 p.m. - Opening ceremony
6:30 to 7 p.m. - Windfall
7:30 to 8:30 p.m. - AM Radio
9 to 10 p.m. - Fake Uncle Jack
1 to 2 p.m. - Queen Scholarship Pageant
1:30 p.m. - Tomato Fights at Cooper’s Waterfront Restaurant parking lot
2:30 to 3:15 p.m. - Danny Argo and Friends
4 to 4:45 p.m. - Jump the Train feat. Billy Knowles 4 )%.
5:30 to 6:15 p.m. - 3 Imaginary Boys
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Ben Piccillo
August 2016
11
Krysten
Montgomery,
lead singer
for Flaxy
Morgan,
sings a Lady
Gaga song
to open the
band’s first
set of the
night at the
2014 Tomato
Festival.
Liz Vanesko
performs
with Sweet
Pepper &
the Long
Hots at St.
Barbara
parish
bazaar in
2014. Sweet
Pepper &
the Long
Hots will
play from
9 to 11 p.m.
p.m. Friday,
Aug. 19 at
the Tomato
Festival.
Tony Callaio File Photo | For Sunday Dispatch
OUR CITY IS PROUD TO HOST THE 33rd ANNUAL
FESTIVAL
Congratulations From Pittston City Officials
Mayor Jason Klush
Councilman Michael Lombardo
Councilman Kenneth Bangs
Councilman Danny Argo
Councilman Joe McLean
Controller Chris Latona
Treasurer Kathy Cunard
Administrator Joseph Moskovitz
80667881
765784
Community Development Director Joseph Chacke
12 August 2016
Farmers market vendors will be at Tomato Festival
Staff reports
In addition to the
kiddie rides, the
parade, tomato fights
and various activities,
the Tomato Festival also has — you
guessed it — tomatoes!
Vendors that can be
found at the weekly
farmers market selling
their fresh produce
include Golomb’s
Farm and Greenhouse,
who will have vegetables and tomatoes will
be plentiful at the time
of the festival, even
though the tomato
season started late
due to weather.
Golomb’s Farm has
sold produce since
the second year of the
Tomato Festival when
it was on Kennedy
Boulevard in 1984.
Another vendor
known to be at the
festival since 2000 is
Brace’s Orchard. They
will sell dumplings,
candy apples, donuts,
cups of cider, peaches,
Tomatoes
imported
from Plains
Township
are a
staple
at the
Golomb’s
Farms
stand
at the
Pittston
Tomato
Festival.
apples, nectarines and
plums.
Tim’s Chili and
Salsa is an eight-year
veteran of the festival
and will sell salsa and
chili.
Also on hand will be
Jubilee Balloon making balloon animals.
These vendors will
be located in the lower
Tomato Festival Lot
near the bandshell.
email [email protected]
Proud to support the
PITTSTON
Tomato Festival
Atty. Girard J. Mecadon
Personal Injury-Real Estate-Wills & Estates
Pittston Tomato Festival Solicitor
570-654-5030
www.MecadonLaw.com 363 Laurel St, Pittston, PA 18640
Bill Tarutis File Photo| For Sunday Dispatch
A ‘saucy’ war is coming
Nick Wagner File Photo | Sunday Dispatch
Pat Greenfield, former owner of Grico’s Restaraunt in Exeter, was the 2015 Sauce Wars winner.
Sauce Wars entries will be judged Aug. 21
Staff reports
A war is on the
horizon, but this one
involves sauce tasting.
The annual Sauce
Wars competition
will make its seventh
appearance at the
this year.
Restaurants from far
and wide and individual
entrants will gather to
taste sauces spicy and
mild, simple and complex.
This year’s entrants
will not compete for
money, but for the ability say they had the best
sauce at the Pittston
Tomato Festival — a
feat they can brag
about for the next
364 days.
Last year’s winner, Grico’s Restuarant in Exeter, will
return to defend its
title against Sindacos,
of Luzerne; Arturo’s, of
Dupont; Cris Nics Irish
Pub, of Wilkes-Barre;
and Lizza’s Mezzo
Mezzo, of Pittston.
The Sauce Wars will
take place throughout
the entire Tomato Festival and the winner will
be announced at the
event’s closing Sunday,
Aug. 21. Voting will take
place next to the festival
committee stand. For
a $2 donation, festivalgoers can taste and vote
on their favorite sauce.
All proceeds benefit
the Greater Pittston Historical Society.
August 2016
13
14 August 2016
Area girls will vie for Tomato Queen crown
Staff reports
Area girls who
have always dreamed
of being a queen will
have the chance to
make their dreams
come true when
they participate in
the annual Tomato
Queen Pageant.
The pageant will
be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20 in the
Tomato Festival Lot.
Girl between the
ages of 14 and 19
will be scored based
on an interview,
stage performance
and talent. The talent portion of the
competition has a
time limit of two
minutes and can
include a commercial
for the festival, a
song and/or a dance.
The winner will
receive a $500 cash
college scholarship
and the runner-up
will receive a $250
cash college scholarship. Those not
attending college
can use the money
or other educational
purposes.
The 2014
Tomato
Queen
Courney
Richards
places the
crown on the
2015 Tomato
Festival
Queen
Hannah
Kasko.
Jimmy Fisher File Photos | Sunday Dispatch
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE
HE
PITTSTON TOMATO
FESTIVAL COMMITTEE
ON 33 SUCCESSFUL YEARS
S
FULL LINE OF ALLIED PRODUCTS
FU
570-655-2100 / 800-294-5478
5
57
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SERVICES-RENTALS
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1 Memco Drive
Pittston, PA 18640
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Vendor locations
1. Two Gentlemen Catering
2. Two Gentlemen Catering
3. Peculiar Culinary
4. Mr. Ps
5. 4 Guys
6. Tony Thomas Deli & Catering LLC
7. Ben & George’s Ice Cream
8. Valenti’s Restaurant
9. Tony’s Pizzeria
10. Lisa Ann’s
11. Sammy’s Caribbean Grill
12. Crazy Cow
13. Webby’s Middle Eastern
14. Webby’s Concessions
15. Bindi Desserts
16. Yogi’s
17. Yogi’s
18. Vik & Lana’s
19. Gramma Aita’s Kitchen
20. BBQ Barry
21. Grico’s
22. LaRosa Italiana
23. Lou’s Concessions
24. Callahan’s Cafe
25. Down Home Rice Pudding
26. Old Country Style Almonds
27. Giovanni’s on the Go
28. Sabatelle’s Market
29. The Chicken Coup-Old Forge
30. Nico’s Pizza
31. Nico’s Pizza
32. Paluck’s Food Concessions
33. Notis the Gyro King
34. Palazzo 53
35. Marianaccis Restaurant
36. Patti’s Pies
37. Dan Figura Concessions
38. Pittston Area Basketball
39. Hope For Hunter
40. Just Fudge It
41. Wyoming Valley Alcohol & Drug
42. Wyoming Area Kiwanis
43. Lady Patriots Basketball
44. Greater Wyoming Valley Blaze
45. Knights of Columbus
46. Blue Chip Animal Farm
47. Sunday Dispatch
48. Catherine McAuley Center
49. Paint Pittston Pink
50. Funstuff Toys
51. Dominick’s Jewelry
August 2016
15
16 August 2016
Pittston tomato, festival have quite a history
Editor’s note: Columnist Judy Minsavage poured over copies of previous
Tomato Guides as well as issues of the
Sunday Dispatch to bring readers this
detailed timeline of the
Pittston Tomato Festival.
Question:
The Pittston Tomato
Festival celebrated its
silver anniversary in
2008. What unique
model of car joined the
Chevy SSR, PT Cruiser, Peeking into
the Past
Volkswagen Beetle,
Humvee delivery truck
Judy Minsavage
and school bus in the
line of Sunday Dispatch
collectible vehicles?
1963
A Sunday Dispatch headline
announced “The ‘Best Tomatoes’ In
Nation Grown Here C of C Maintains.”
The Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce wanted to “tell the world” about
the “good eatin’ tomato that is produced
from the rich river-bottom farmland,
on the west side of the Susquehanna
River in a section that runs from Exeter
through Wyoming.” Brothers Mike and
Joe Lukash were the focus of the story
that had Joe claiming, “I’ve tasted tomatoes from Florida, Georgia, New York
and New Jersey and there’s no comparison with ours.” Vincent O’Hara, executive secretary of the chamber stated,
“According to agriculture officials,
Sunday Dispatch File Photos
The Second Annual Pittston Tomato Festival was expected to see over 20,000 people attending.
Organizers from left P.J. Melvin, Pittston councilman; Wil Toole, chairman, farmers market; Stanley
Strellish; Maria Capolarella, councilwoman; Val D’Elia; Thomas Walsh, Pittston mayor; Ken Scaz,
festival chairman; Gary Bradbury, Albina DeAmbrose, Paul McGarry and Charles Bufalino.
tomatoes grown by our local farms
are, from a quality standpoint, among
the best grown in the United States.”
Lukash witnessed a change in tomato
varieties such as Rutgers and Marglobe
being phased out by newer varieties
such as Moreton, Big Boy, Manapal
and Pink Plum. “In a good season, we’ll
get 2,000 baskets. A better year maybe
3,000,” Lukash added.
1983
According to an article written by
Wil Toole, he, P.J. Melvin, Ken Scaz,
Anne Bradbury and Paul McGarry
decided that a change was needed to
improve Pittston’s image. They decided
on an event that would be centered
around “one thing” that would cast
a positive light on their city. After
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discussing several options, Scaz told
the group about Val Delia, a Pittston
“tomato enthusiast” who believed the
region produced the best-tasting tomatoes grown. Delia presented to idea to
then-Pittston Mayor Thomas Walsh,
who encouraged the venture.
1984
The Tomato Festival Committee
was pleased with the amount of people
attending the inaugural three-day
festival. By the second the day they
were already planning the festival for
1985. The first annual Tomato Festival
Run took place. Acts that performed
throughout the last day of the event
were: Medallion featuring Leroy
Knowles and Tom Studders, Guitarist
Bob Bath and Maxus featuring Mark
It was a banner year for the Pittston tomato crop
in 1989, but in this 1960 photo taken by Stephen
Lukasik for the Dispatch shows Margaret Yonski
in her Inkerman tomato garden holding two
extremely large tomatoes. Yonski was the mother
of 14 children, Ann Marino, Rose Yanko, Frank,
Josephine Armalay, Catherine Boccolini, Michael,
Joseph, Vicky Gubino, Wanda Ross, Caroline John,
George, Janet Ceresi and Marion Price.
Hartman, Dave Cupano, Diane Luke,
Joe Luke and Dave Williams.
1985
Thousands were expected to attend
the festival, which was then held on
Kennedy Boulevard.
1987
After 80,000 people attended the
fourth annual Pittston Tomato Festival
and ABC News named it the “fastestgrowing” festival in America, many
wondered what was next for the event.
Organizers mulled a decision to change
the location to accommodate more
This was just part of the record crowd attending the Pittston Tomato Festival in 1988.
August 2016
Students of Seton Catholic High School
made a float for the 1990 Pittston Tomato
Festival parade.
Members of the Wyoming Valley Youth Soccer, Pittston Stoners
carry their banner in the 1987 Pittston Tomato Festival Parade.
people. Publicity chairman Paul McGarry felt
that enlarging the celebration would cause the
event to lose its hometown feel. All those concerned agreed that any
move outside of the city
would not be considered.
The three-day festival
became incorporated
into a private, non-profit
civic organization. Val
Delia, president of the
festival committee, said
of the move, “That can
only mean growth for
the festival and a greater
demand for the tomatoes
that are produced in the
area.”
The Tomato Festival
Queen pageant made
its debut. The first to
be crowned queen was
Tammy Lee Johnson.
1988
With over 2,000
participants, it was estimated that over 10,000
people lined the streets
of Pittston to watch the
Tomato Festival Parade.
The Gunzelman family
traveled from New Jersey
to attend and Jane Tracy
People gather around the Pittston Tomato Festival mascot in 1989.
of Avoca planned to
spend the day at the festival with her two children
Elizabeth and Matthew.
1989
The Pittston City
Police Department operated a dunk tank, giving
patrons the opportunity
to soak their favorite
police officer, local politician, newspaper columnist or other special
guest. Members of the
department were joined
by Tom O’Donovan,
Bob Finnerty, Sgt.
Edward Judge, Judy
Knick, John Argento,
Frank Pointek, Bill
Hopple and Mike Cotter.
1990
The Tomato Festival
Parade was expected
to be the largest in its
history. Rain dampened
the first two days of
the now four-day event.
On Saturday morning,
17
Festival-goers enjoyed a beautiful day at the 1996
Tomato Festival.
shortly before the parade
was scheduled to begin,
the rain stopped and
crowds were treated to
warm temperatures and
sunshine for the rest of
the day.
1991
The Tomato Festival
became the largest fundraiser for many local
organizations, allowing
the groups to continue
to benefit the community throughout the year.
The Showcase Theater,
Greater Pittston Lioness
Club, Knights of Columbus, Veterans of the
Vietnam War, Wyoming
Valley Drug and Alcohol
Organization, churches,
and athletic and band
clubs were just some of
the many vendors.
1993
Former Pittston Mayor
Thomas Walsh, who,
10 years prior, gave his
blessing to starting the
event, was named festival
grand marshal at the 10th
annual event. After a
brief hiatus, the Tomato
Festival Queen pageant
directed by Gina Major
and Linda O’Boyle was
reintroduced. Committee
members were Phyllis
and Amy O’Boyle, Joan
Zaneski, Gerri Degillio
and Mary Regula.
1994
Ken Scaz, Tomato Festival committee member
and Pittston barber, was
looking for a new attraction for the festival. As it
Did you know?
In 1994, there were 30
volunteers working the
According to the Pittston
Tomato Festival website,
there are 52 volunteers
working on this year’s
event.
See pittston | 18
CONTINUED SUCCESS TO THE
TOMATO FESTIVAL
• Lessons
• Instruments
• Local and
Concert Sound
• Rehearsal and Recording Studio
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(570) 655-6076 • Fax (570) 655-5352
18 August 2016
Pittston
From page 18
happened, Tom “Nitro”
Simko, the director of
the Pennsylvania Chapter
of the American Arm
Wrestling Association,
was a steady customer at
Scaz’s barber shop. After
some discussion, the first
Arms of Steel arm wrestling event was planned
for the upcoming festival.
The Tomato Festival
committee honored Salvatore Battisti, Samuel
Miceli, Nellie Bayoras
Romanas, Millie Volpetti and James Clark,
all of Pittston, for the
contributions to the community.
1995
The 12th annual Best
Pittston Tomato contest
was open to farmers
and any resident who
grew tomatoes. The
only criteria was that
the the entries be from
the Pittston tomato belt,
which was described as
between Tunkhannock
and Shickshinny. Professional farmers Harold
Golomb, Carl Zekoski
and Bernard Gigarski
were appointed to judge
the competition.
1997
In 2004, festival-goers took a chance on the big wheel.
Then-Mayor Michael Lombardo of Pittston is on the receiving end in the Pittston Tomato Festival
Tomato Fight in 2002.
Festival parade organizers sent out an invitation
for local car clubs to
enter class, custom and
muscle cars to the annual
parade.
1998
Music was on the
minds of everyone as an
all-star lineup of national
and local groups were
set to perform. Opening
night featured Motown
legend Shirley Reeves
of the Shirelles. Scheduled to perform over the
next three days were
the Poets, Somethin’
Else, The Buoys, The
Highlights, Joey Dee &
the Starlighters, Flaxy
Morgan, RPM Old Stars,
Mere Mortals, and the
Badlees.
2000
The Pittston Area
advanced placement
chemistry class members
Christopher Corey,
Wally Bechtold, Dana
Klush, Tracey Nowrocki, Adam Joyce and
Gene Melvin, planted
20,000 tomato seeds in a
greenhouse with the help
of Ann Marie Roberts,
Penn State Cooperative
Extension instructor.
Though the original
intent was to learn about
farming methods, the
ultimate plan was to
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experiment with the Rutgers hybrid they hoped
one day would become
the official Pittston
Tomato.
2001
Construction crews
demolished the former
Spring Street Auto building and an adjacent
structure located on
Main and Spring streets
to make way for the
growing festival. More
work was scheduled to
be completed for the lot
in 2002. The historic
Eagle Hose Company on
Kennedy Street just off
the festival lot was renovated with new garage
doors, windows, exterior
lighting and paint. The
former festival lot on
Dock Street and Kennedy
Boulevard now contained
a Burger King and CVS
drugstore.
Linda Zaneski
O’Boyle, Dupont, credited pageants such as the
Queen for giving her
the self-confidence and
educational opportunities
and helped her to go on
to win the Miss Pennsylvania and Mrs. Pennsylvania titles. O’Boyle won
the festival queen title in
1988.
The first “Dispatch
car” was available to win
at the Sunday Dispatch
booth. Does anyone
have the whole fleet of
collectible cars? Call us
at 570-991-6403. Give
the wheel a spin at the
Dispatch booth this year
to win a replica of the
Chevy Camaro.
2002
The first ”tomato
fight” was scheduled for
Cooper’s parking lot. It
was the newest and some
said “most controversial
event” to be added to the
Tomato Festival.
Lou Sperazza, a home
winemaker, found a
recipe for tomato wine in
a winemakers’ magazine
and wanted to have it
available for the festival.
It was nearly ready but
needed another week or
so to perfect. Tasting a
sample, Sperazza said,
“It has a dry, white wine
taste. Push the Tomato
Festival ahead another
week and wine would
have been just perfect.”
Pittston Police Chief
Paul Porfirio and Fire
Chief Frank Roman led
the Pittston Tomato Festival 5K Run. Both were
selected to lead the run
Let us know
Were you a member
of the all-girl group
Starbound?
If you performed with
the group known as
Starbound during the
in past years, we’d like to
know.
as a tribute to local emergency service personnel.
2003
The festival celebrated
its 20th year.
Joe Lukash learned
how to grow and appreciate the Pittston tomato
from his father Joseph
and his uncle Mike
Lukash. After all, both
men extolled the unique
flavor of the Pittston
tomato back in 1963.
After Lukash retired from
the U.S. Postal Service in
1992, he took up farming
full-time raising not only
tomatoes, but cabbage,
herbs, peppers, cucumbers and more. Admitting the family farm was
not as large as in earlier
years, Lukash, who tended the fields beginning at
age 9, dubbed the work
as “leisurely as compared
to delivering the daily
mail.” Lukash along with
his wife, Rose, operated a
farm stand along Susquehanna Avenue and their
daughter, Sally, became a
natural food chef.
Former Tomato Festival Queen Jennifer
Angelo wanted to reunite
all the festival queens to
date. With the help of her
mother Debbie, grandmother Mary Dzieciol
and the Sunday Dispatch
archives, Angelo was able
to assemble each to add
to the 20th anniversary
celebration of the festival.
2005
The Seton Catholic
Key Club manned the
Sunday Dispatch booth
to raise funds for their
organization and to help
American troops abroad.
Tom Kokinda of Duryea was credited with
having a garden that
produces tomatoes four
times the size of a baseball. “I actually do everything opposite from what
everyone else tells me,”
Kokinda admitted. “And I
have a good garden.”
With the start of
just days away, Pittston
Mayor Mike Lombardo
and former Yatesville
Mayor Jim Zarra set
Since 1989
August 2016
about cleaning up debris
that had fallen from two
condemned buildings
on Main Street. With
more than 50,000 people
expected to crowd the
city and line the streets
for the upcoming parade,
barricades were set in
place to cordon off the
area. With the date of
demolition of the properties not yet set, Lombardo and Zarra cleared
bricks from the sidewalk
to make the area more
presentable.
2006
The Pittston Tomato
Festival Committee
presented the Pittston
Historical Society with a
check for $4,500 for the
historical marker honoring the Garment Workers
of Greater Pittston. The
marker was installed at
19
In 2004,
this
young
lad got
his first
Sunday
Dispatch
Balloon
at the
Dispatch
booth.
the entrance of the farmers market lot.
Pittston Mayor
Michael Lombardo
announced that the
Tomato Festival lot would
be named in honor of the
late Robert Conroy, who
had been a festival committee member from its
inception.
The Tomato Festival
Arms of Steel Armsport
Championship entered its
12th year and more than
doubled in contestants.
Considered one of the
top two arm wrestling
competitions of the year
in Pennsylvania, Arms of
Steel Tournament Director Tom “Nitro” Simko
said he expected 8 to
10 women to join in the
tournament in 2006.
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed
See pittston | 20
Congratulations to the
Pittston Tomato Festival Committee
On Another Successful Year!
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Pittston
From page 19
Rendell came to the festival to present a $5,000
check to festival committee members Lori
Nocito, chairman, and
Phil Campenni.
2007
Val Delia, president of
the Pittston Tomato Festival committee, “founding father” of the festival
and undeniable champion
of the Pittston tomato,
passed away earlier in
the year. He was honored
posthumously by being
named grand marshal of
the annual parade. His
wife, Ethel, assumed his
place in the lead car.
2008
For the second year,
Pittston City Volunteer
Fire Fighters offered cold
beer and entertainment
at the Eagle Hose Company fire hall adjacent to
the festival grounds.
Up to 100 people were
expected to participate in
the annual tomato fights
at Cooper’s Waterfront.
2009
The sauce wars were
becoming a favorite part
of the festival. Local
restaurants offered their
tastiest samples for festi-
val patrons to sample and
select as the best. A $1
donation to participate
benefited the Greater
Pittston YMCA.
In her Sunday Dispatch
column, Maria Remembers, Maria Capolarella
Montante mentioned
that a 350-lb. tomato
sculpture created by artist Laura Lengyel was
scheduled to be installed
at the corner of North
Main and William streets.
She also mentioned
that Brian Yarvin, of the
Washington Post, wrote
a column which appeared
in the Aug. 2 edition of
the Post, “giving a vivid
account” of the Pittston
tomato fights. Yarvin also
listed accommodations
and places to eat while
staying in the city. He
was expected to re-visit
the festival.
2010
The Sunday Dispatch
invited all those who
attended the festival to
be sure to take plenty of
photos and upload them
to the Dispatch website.
Arms of Steel Arm
Wrestling Contest female
winners were Alana
DeMinico, Patricia W.,
Debbie Price, Crystal
Malek and Sue Fisher.
2011
The Tomato Festival
5K run was held in
honor of Spc. Dale J.
Kridlo, who was killed
in action in Afghanistan
in 2010. The number of
runners was expected to
go beyond the 230 that
had participated in the
previous year. Planners
included Albert Kridlo,
Dale’s father; Michelle
Hopkins, Jay Duffy and
Jerry Mullarkey.
YMCA, sponsor of the
Sauce Wars, reported
a record-setting 1,100
people participated in the
Tomato Festival’s annual
contest. Craig Lukatch,
Executive Director of
YMCA, presented the
first place trophy to Rob
Musto of Junior’s Pasta
House.
Sabatelle’s Market
owner Jane Sabatelle
was very happy with the
amount of business her
booth did at the Tomato
Festival. Along with their
regular customers, they
met people from Pittsburgh, New Mexico and
Rhode Island.
2012
The annual Tomato
Festival 5K Run was
christened with a new
name to benefit the Miles
For Michael Fund. Jay
Duffy, organizer, hoped
the number of participants for the race would
Raccolta Di Pomodori
hit the 300 mark. Miles
for Michael was named in
honor of Michael Joyce,
who passed away in 2011
from cancer. Proceeds
provided support for
cancer patients and their
families.
2013
To celebrate the
Pittston Tomato Festival’s 30th anniversary,
Executive Chef Biagio
Dente, and son Chef
Blaise Alan Dente,
baked a tomato-batter
cake expected to feed
800 people. According to Dente, the cake
shaped like a tomato and
topped with a tomatoflavored buttercream
icing would take approximately 40 pounds of
flour to make.
2014
Returning after a year
hiatus, the Tomato Festival Sauce Wars sponsored by the Greater
Pittston YMCA was
held. Nearly 700 people
cast votes for the best
sauce in the competition
which included Cafe
Italia, Callahan’s Cafe &
Coffee House, CrisNics,
Gigio’s Subs and More,
and Napoli’s Pizza.
Jean Goham of
Pittston attended her
31st consecutive Pittston
Tomato Festival.
Kolton Styczen expected to fill
his bag full of goodies at the
Pittston Tomato Festival Parade
in 2011.
2015
Former Major League
Baseball player Andy
Ashby signed autographs
and posed for pictures
with festival-goers at the
Sunday Dispatch booth.
All proceeds for that
day went to the Jenkins
Township Little League.
Ashby’s four daughters,
Ashton, Madison, Eastin and Taryn, all played
Little League for Jenkins
Township. The rest of
the days were covered by
the Greater Pittston Care
and Concern Free Health
Clinic. Stop by and visit
with them again this year,
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Kara Corbett tries her luck at
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try a spin of the wheel for
our free giveaways and
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Dispatch car. All proceeds go to the clinic.
A 1.5-mile Fun Walk
was added to the Miles
for Michael 5K run event,
enabling all ages and
abilities to participate in
the charity event.
Answer:
The Mini Cooper
joined our line of collectible Sunday Dispatch
vehicles in 2008 during
the silver anniversary celebration of the Pittston
Tomato Festival.
Reach Judy Minsavage at
570-991-6403 or on Twitter @
JudithMinsavage.
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Pittston
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22 August 2016
From our kitchens to yours
Sunday Dispatch, Times Leader staffers share recipes
Staff reports
Pittston is celebrating all things tomato with its annual Tomato Festival
beginning Thursday, Aug. 18. While
you peruse the farmers market for the
freshest fruits, Sunday Dispatch and
Times Leader staffers offer some tantalizing tomato recipes. Enjoy!
Penne with tomatoes, peas and
prosciutto
I usually make this as a vegetarian
dish. But for this recipe submission, I
decided to try it with some delectable
prosciutto. Delizioso!
8 ounces uncooked penne pasta
1 cup green peas
3 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes
4 thin slices prosciutto, chopped
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
leaves
3 tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 oz. fresh Parmesan cheese, shaved
(about 1/4 cup)
Cook pasta according to package
directions, omitting salt and fat. Add
peas during last 2 minutes of cooking.
um-high. Add tomatoes to pan; cook
1 minute. Add pasta mixture, salt and
pepper to pan, cook 3 minutes. Stir
in basil and parsley. Add prosciutto
to lightly warm. Plate and cover with
shaved cheese.
- Judy Minsavage
Penne with tomatoes, peas and prosciutto
Drain.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over
medium-low heat. Add oil, swirl to
coat. Add garlic, cook 4 minutes or
until garlic begins to brown, stirring
occasionally. Increase heat to medi-
Chicken club sandwich
It’s not the most exciting dish on
this list, but it sure is one of the easiest to make. This satisfying sandwich
only takes a few minutes and is good
for when you’re short on time for
lunch.
Two chicken breasts
Six slices of bacon
Two slices of tomato
Chicken club sandwich
Lettuce
Ranch dressing or mayonnaise
Grill two chicken breasts until
cooked, which usually takes about 10
to 15 minutes. After they’re cooked,
cut them into small pieces to fit onto
the break.
Bacon can be done to your liking, some like it crunchy, some like
it chewy. For crunchy, throw it in a
frying pan on a stove and cook until
crispy. For chewy, throw in the microwave for three minutes.
Slice two medium thin slices of
tomato, add a handful of lettuce and
place it all in whatever order you
would like on the bread.
For added flavor, throw some mayonnaise or ranch dressing on the
sandwich as well.
- Jimmy Fisher
Tomato basil flatbread
Anytime you can incorporate tomatoes into pizza, it’s a good thing. This
is a good one. There’s no need to mea-
sure any ingredients, just throw this
together and away you go.
1 flatbread
1 medium Pittston tomato
Shredded mozzarella
Fresh mozzarella
Basil leaves
Pepper
Garlic salt or powder
Tomato sauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Begin
by warming the flatbread for 3 minutes on 350 degrees. Spread a small
amount of tomato sauce on the flatbread. Next, sprinkle your desired
amount of shredded cheese on top of
the sauce. Slice tomatoes thin, and
layer flatbread until covered. Slice
fresh mozzarella thin and layer most
of the flatbread, leaving space for the
flatbread to breath. Chop basil leaves
and sprinkle. Add pepper and garlic
salt/powder. The great thing about
this dish, is you can add whatever you
want to it! Back for 15 minutes at 350
degrees.
- Nick Wagner
Tomato basil flatbread
WAY TO GROW
PITTSTON TOMATO FESTIVAL!
Congratulations on the 33rd Year!
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70-6654
54-99732
732
48 South Main Street
Pittston
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Taco dip
Sometimes the simplest ingredient ends up being the star. A ripened
local tomato tops this easy-to-assemble snack, and it adds plenty of flavor.
Measurements are estimated, but you
can use as much or as little of each
ingredient as you like.
1/2 packet taco seasoning
1/2 cup water
1/4 lb. ground beef, browned and
drained, or beef substitute (I used
Gardein Beefless Crumbles)
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup salsa
1/4 cup taco cheese blend
1 ripened tomato, chopped
Shredded lettuce
Mix the taco seasoning and water
and pour into a skillet set on medium.
Cook until it comes to a boil. Add
beef or substitute to taco seasoning mix. Cook until heated through.
Now layer the other ingredients: In
a shallow bowl, layer taco meat, sour
cream, salsa, cheese, lettuce and top
August 2016
23
with chopped tomato. Other suggested toppings are sliced black olives,
guacamole, sliced green onions or
diced bell peppers.
- Sarah Hite Hando
Taco dip
See Kitchens | 24
24 August 2016
Kitchens
From page 23
Cucumber tomato salad with
Greek dressing
Farmers markets can make shopping convenient and healthy. As I
walk by the stands, looking at all
the colorful and fresh produce, I
get wrapped up in the possibilities.
Here’s a recipe featuring just some
of the veggies that can be found at
Pittston’s market.
2 cucumbers
2 tomatoes
1/2 an onion
2 garlic cloves
6 oz. Feta cheese
Wash cucumbers and tomatoes. Slice
the cucumber into rounds, than halve
them. Slice the tomatoes into bite sized
chunks. Slice onion as thin as possible
and tear up the rings so they are in
Cucumber tomato salad with Greek dressing
smaller pieces. Mince the garlic and
add in with the onion. Add the Feta
cheese and, with a wooden spoon, mix
all the ingredients. Add dressing and
mix again. Serve chilled.
For the dressing:
1/4 olive oil
1/2 apple cider vinegar (you can
also use red wine, balsamic or white
vinegar)
1 tsp Dijon mustard (spicy brown is
also good)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic Powder
1 tsp basil
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients into a
mason jar (or other container
that can tightly seal) and
shake until all ingredients
are mixed thoroughly.
Add about half the contents of the jar to the
salad, mix and enjoy.
- Sarah Haase
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August 2016
25
A Look Back
A very enthusiastic Rock Street Music float drives downtown at a previous
festival.
The crew from the YMCA gets into the act in celebrating the 30th Annual
Jaylynn Silva, 6, front, Angelina Mayfield, 8, left,
and Tabitha Moran, 15, all of Pittston, have a front
and center view at a prior Tomato Festival Parade.
26 August 2016
Tomato dodgin’
Tomato Fights set to splatter at Cooper’s
By Nick Wagner
[email protected]
The parking lot at Cooper’s Seafood Waterfront
is about to be painted red
— again.
The annual Pittston
Tomato Festival Tomato
Fights will take place at
1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug.
22 in the parking lot of
Cooper’s, located at 304
Kennedy Blvd. The event
has been a staple of the
festival since 2002, when
the first fight was held at
Cooper’s.
Entry fee is $10 and
includes protective eye
goggles. T-shirts can be
purchased for $12, and all
participants must register
in advance at Cooper’s.
Space is limited to the
first 150 people, and participants must be at least
15 years of age.
The event is sponsored
by Cooper’s and all proceeds will benefit Greater
Pittston charities.
The Tomato Fights
feature truckloads of
tomatoes being dumped
into the parking lot and
everyone is fair game as
they crush and throw
tomatoes at each other.
With over 5,000
pounds of rotten and
squished tomatoes being
used, the fights will last
around five minutes and
participants will divide
and face off in a battle in
which there are no losers. The trick is not only
to gather and throw, but
Tomato fight fans watch from the safety of Cooper’s patio during
last year’s Pittston Tomato Festival.
Bill Tarutis File Photos | For Sunday Dispatch
Port Griffith’s Jake Vaxmonsky chucks some tomatoes in 2015.
Dressed
in a
white
tuxedo,
Greg
Searfoss,
takes
part
in the
Tomato
Fights in
2010.
Participants go on the offensive at the annual tomato fights at the
Pittston Tomato Festival in 2015.
Aimee Dilger File Photo | Sunday Dispatch
also to duck and throw.
The tradition of the
tomato fights first began
in 1944 in Bunol, Spain,
and it is safe to say local
participants are happy
that Pittston adopted the
event.
The cleanup process
involves bulldozers scraping up the tomatoes and
fire hoses washing the
red off the parking lot.
The tomatoes are then
ground up and dumped
into the sewers.
Reach Nick Wagner at 570-9916406 or on Twitter @Dispatch_Nick
Hundreds of people pack Cooper’s parking lot for the annual
tomato fights.
August 2016
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28 August 2016
A Look Back
Josephine Lazzari, all of only 100 years young, is
perched in a Corvette for the parade at a prior Tomato
Festival Parade.
Parade Grand Marshal Ray Preby and his wife, Nancy ride dowtown
at a prior Tomato Festival Parade.
Pittston’s own Jane Adonizio, left, and Lori Nocito host the annual Tomato
Festival Parade on Fox 56 at a previous event.
Congratulations
Ella and Santino say, “ASK for the very best in home health care.”
to Greater Pittston on
another successful Tomato Festival
in 2016
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fall safety program, shopping, companionship, respite and much
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Call Michelle Bernardi, nurse practitioner,
for a personalized consult on meeting
your homecare needs at
1-800-747-0113
570-654-2883
570-655-1999
Blaise Alan Dente lights the sparklers on the 30th birthday cake for the Tomato Fest while
his dad looks on and the community sings ‘Happy Birthday.’
Outgoing 2012 Tomato Festival Queen Marina Maida crowns the new
Queen, Rebecca Lyn Colwell, of West Pittston in 2013.
August 2016
29
Matt Brucher helps 3-year-old
Hevaeh Evans climb the rock wall
at a past Tomato Festival.
30 August 2016
Dispatch releases Camaro
Toy car one giveaway at booth 47
Staff reports
A limited edition Chevrolet Camaro featuring
the Sunday Dispatch
logo is the most recent
addition to the Dispatch
fleet garage. The die-cast
sports car will be awarded with numerous other
giveaways at the 33rd
Annual Pittston Tomato
Festival.
The Camaro will be
the 15th vehicle in the
fleet. Last year’s vehicle
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was a cherry red Dodge
Challenger. The yellow
Camaro is sharp, and a
great addition to the Dispatch fleet.
Other vehicles from
years past include a F-150
pickup, a Porsche Boxter,
a 1953 Chevrolet 3100
pickup truck, a 1957
Corvette, a school bus, a
Volkswagen Beetle, a PT
Cruiser, a Chevy SSR, a
Mini Cooper, a Hummer
Humvee, a Volkswagen
Microbus and a Sunday
Dispatch delivery
truck.
The Camaro can be
won by competing at
the Dispatch booth
47, which is located
centrally at the Tomato Festival. This year’s
competition will be
spinning a wheel.
Each spin is $1. There
will be different prizes
located on the wheel.
You can have a free
spin with a Dispatch
Dollar, found inside
this issue and the
Aug. 14 or Aug. 21
issue of the Sunday
Dispatch, or a simple
cash donation. Donations from the week
will go to the Care
and Concern Free
Health Clinic, which
has helped work the
August 2016
31
booth for the past
several years. The
Sunday Dispatch has
raised thousands of
dollars for the clinic
during the Tomato
Festival.
Other prizes
include last year’s
favorite neon hipster
sunglasses, green,
blue or red frisbees,
neon plastic cups,
water bottles, recycling grocery bags.
Each prize has the
Sunday Dispatch logo.
You can also win a
coupon to place a free
classified ad in either
the Times Leader or
the Sunday Dispatch.
by email at sd@psdispatch.
com.
Nick Wagner | Sunday Dispatch
This yellow Sunday Dispatch Chevrolet Camaro can be won at booth 47 at
this weekend’s Pittston Tomato Festival. In the background a 2013 Camaro
owned by Pittston resident Chris Ridolfi.
On Our Way...
2013
2014
2015
to the 33rd Annual Tomato Festival
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These are just some of the items available at the Sunday Dispatch
booth 47 at the Pittston Tomato Festival.
32 August 2016
Annual 5K set for Aug. 20
Miles for Michael run enters 18th year
By Nick Wagner
[email protected]
Nothing wrong with a
run, or stroll, through the
Quality Tomato Capital
of the World.
The 18th Annual Miles
for Michael/Pittston
Tomato Festival 5K run
will be held at 10 a.m.
on Saturday, Aug. 20 in
downtown Pittston. But
if you’re not a runner,
don’t worry.
A Fun Walk will accompany the 5K through
the streets of downtown
Pittston. The walk will be
1.5 miles and won’t take
on the hills of downtown.
The event benefits
Miles for Michael, a local
non-profit organization
that helps families battling cancer. Registration
begins at 8:30 a.m. at the
Greater Pittston YMCA,
Main Street, Pittston.
Race organizer Jay
Duffy said last year’s
event brought in around
400 people. He expects
the run to be near that
mark this year.
“We’re trying to advertise it a little more this
year and get more walkers out there,” he said.
“If we can get to 400 that
would be a good showing.”
New to the race this
year will be the help of
Scranton Running Company, Duffy said. The
company will help track
results of all runners in
the field.
The run course is relatively flat with moderate
hills. A 5K loop around
the perimeter of Pittston
includes running over
the Water Street and Fort
Jenkins bridges. Streets
will be traffic controlled
and miles will be marked.
The course begins just
north of William and
North Main streets and
ends at the Tomato Festival grounds on South
Main Street.
Matt Flynn, formerly
of Pittston, and thenPittston Area senior Tara
Johnson won last year’s
race.
From each application, $4 will be donated
to Miles for Michael
Fund. Last year, the run
brought in $2,500 for
Miles For Michael. Runners will have full use
of the YMCA facilities
on the day of the race.
T-shirts will be given to
the first 150 entrants of
the race and the first 25
walkers to register.
Trophies will be
awarded to the top three
male and female runners. A split time will
be provided at one mile
with a water station at
the two-mile mark. An
award ceremony will be
held on the Tomato Festival grounds following
the race. Medals will be
awarded to first place in
the following age categories: 14 and under, 15-19,
20-24, 25-29, 30-34,
35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-59
and 60 and older.
The walk will begin
from the same spot as the
run. It will head over the
bridges and up Kennedy
Boulevard to the Columbus Statue. It will finish
at the Tomato Festival
grounds.
Participants interested
in registering online can
visit runsignup.com/pittstontomatofest.
Triple Crown?
Currently, Greater
Pittston has three 5K
races scheduled on the
same route in the second
half of the year — Tomato Festival 5K in August,
Book It Through Pittston
5K by the Pittston
Memorial Library in
September, and Paint
Pittston Pink’s 5K in
October.
Duffy said there have
been talks about a “Triple
Crown,” which will incorporate all three races and
award a cash prize to the
top finishers.
Reach Nick Wagner at 570-9916406 or on Twitter @Dispatch_Nick
August 2016
33
Pennsylvania State Police troopers round the corner on Main Street and head toward the finish line
during last year’s Miles for Michael Pittsotn Tomato Festival 5K.
Then-Pittston Area senior Tara Johnson, left, andd former Pittston
resident Matt Flynn captured top honors in last year’s Miles for
Michael Pittsotn Tomato Festival 5K.
MILES FOR MICHAEL
The Miles for Michael non-profit organization is a way for family and friends of the
late Michael Joyce, a resident of Duryea, who passed away in 2006 at the age of
43. Michael was president of Joyce Financial Group and was well-known across the
region for his loving ways. The thousand-plus friends who attended his memorial
service are a testament that his life was spent helping others and there was never
one person who went to him for assistance that he turned away.
It was that selflessness that led to the formation of the Miles for Michael Event
held on Saturday, June 17, 2006. Throughout his 14-month battle with head and
neck cancer, Michael never asked anything for himself, but asked his friends to
provide support to other families who might not be as capable of handling the
financial burdens of long-distance treatments. Although the original goal of the
Miles for Michael Event was $10,000, more than $100,000 was raised.
A large portion was given to the American Cancer Society Wyoming Valley Unit for
cancer research and $50,000 went toward establishing a permanent fund within
The Luzerne Foundation.
Addressing the needs of cancer patients and their families, this fund provides
support for unexpected expenses such as travel, lodging, food, gas and tolls that
help families to remain with loved ones during treatment and recovery.
The start of last year’s Miles for Michael Pittston Tomato Festival 5K.
Here’s a scene from the first Pittston Tomato Festival 5K in 1999.
Sunday Dispatch File Photo
34 August 2016
No tomato is a loser
Tomato Contest to judge
different looking tomatoes
Staff reports
In possession of a very
large tomato? What about
a very small one?
Is there one on the vine
so ugly it can’t be looked
at it anymore? How about
a tomato too perfect to
eat?
If the answer is “yes”
to any of these questions, those tomatoes
should be entered in the
tomato contest, one of the
The 2015
Tomato
Contest
contestants.
Local
growers vie
for wins
in four
different
tomato
categories.
Pittston Tomato Festival’s
biggest highlights.
Tomatoes will be
judged and awarded ribbons in four categories:
smallest, ugliest, largest
and more perfect.
Entering the contest
is free. Judging will take
place at 7 p.m. Saturday,
Aug. 20 at the festival
committee stand.
newsroom at 570-655-1418 or email
[email protected]
Submitted photo
The Greater PittstonCONGRATULATIONS
Chamber of Commerce
To
Proud to
GLORIA BLANDINA
Support the
33rd Annual
Recipient of
Pittston
THE 2015 JOSEPH F. SAPORITO
Tomato
Festival
LIFETIME OF SERVICE AWARD
Committee
Co
omm
mittee
e
In addition to being so deserving,
we are happy Gloria is our:
Daughter
Sister
Our
Congrat
Friendto join the Chamber
Wife
Officers and Board Members encourage businesses
ulations
also go t
and discover the many benefitsMom
available!
Aunt
o Barbar
a
SciaKaryn
ndrReilly,
1st row left to right Executive VP-Michelle Mikitish, Atty. Joseph D. Burke, Treasurer- Bill Joyce, Jr., President - Patricia F. Stella, Immediate Past President - Jerry A. Champi, 2nd VP - Richard Kazmerick, Representative Michael Carroll 2nd row left to right
Locascio,
a, 2Annette
Grandmother
Volunteer
0Carl1Beardsley,
4
Edward Yencha, Blaise Alan Dente, Maria Zangardi, Lori Spencer, Charles Adonizio III, Atty. Lewis Sebia 3rd row left to right Michael Lombardo, Atty. Timothy Cotter, Atty. Joseph Dessoye, Christine Jensen, Tizanna Mazzarella, Michael Sowinski, Carmen
Scott
Williams,
Jr.,
PerWinters,
s
on of the
We are
proud of you!
Please call (570) 655-1424
or all
emailso
[email protected]
YOUR
LOVING FAMILY
Visit our website:
www.pittstonchamber.org
Year!
80624205
Back row left to right John Serafin, Michael Zablocky, Megan Millo, Michelle Pane, Administrator Events Coordinator - Brandi Bartush, William Renfer
August 2016
35
Check out Sunday Dispatch’s Snapchat filter
Use #SDTomatoes to interact with us
The Sunday Dispatch is
turning the Pittston Tomato
Festival into a social media
experience! Facebook, Twitter and Instagram — you
name it, let’s post it.
This year, however, the
Dispatch is stepping up its
game.
According to a recent
report, more than 150 million people use Snapchat.
And those 50,000 attending
this year’s Tomato Festival
will have a special filter.
P
The Sunday Dispatch will
be featured on a special
filter on the app from 10
a.m. Thursday, Aug. 18
through 10 p.m. Sunday,
Aug. 21. We were going to
share what the filter looks
like in this issue. However,
you’ll just have to wait until
Thursday to find out.
Also, throughout the 33rd
Pittston Tomato Festival,
use the hashtag #SDTomatoes when posting photos
of you eating a sopressata
or housing some ripe tomatoes. Maybe a selfie with
parade grand marshal Jim
Zarra? How about one with
Mayor Klush?
The Sunday Dispatch will
keep tabs of these photos
and publish our favorites in
an upcoming edition. Don’t
forget to save your Snaps
and send them to us as well.
For those of you who don’t
delve into social media,
send us an email to sd@
psdispatch.com.
Best Wishes on the 33rd Annual
ITTSTON
Tomato Festival
Pittston, PA
Commercial Real Estate Development
Serving Pennsylvania - New York - New Jersery
490 North Main Street Pittston, PA 18640
Ph. 570.883.0936
www.insalacodev.com
36 August 2016
Canning tomatoes?
By Andrea Weigl
The News & Observer
I love canning but even I was intimidated by preserving tomatoes.
So earlier this month, I bought 50
pounds of plum tomatoes at the farmers market to try to tackle my fears.
Mainly, I was daunted by the
amount of work involved. Canning is
already a hot sweaty business with
that huge pot of boiling water steaming up the kitchen. With tomatoes,
it’s worse because you have drop the
fruit in boiling water for 30 seconds
to 1 minute to remove the skin. That
just increases the sweatiness factor by
10. And it’s not like you can get away
with only processing five pounds.
With tomatoes, if you are going to do
all that work, it’s better to can 10, 20
or 30 pounds.
So first, I checked in with a couple
experts to find out if there are easier
ways.
Sarah Page is the culinary marketing manager at Jarden Home Brands,
which makes the popular Ball canning
jars. Jarden has recently updated its
go-to canning cookbook, “The All
New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving.”
Page’s take-home advice: Roast the
tomatoes instead of blanching them.
The skins slip off easily and, Page
notes, roasting helps concentrate
the flavor. I found several recipes
that take advantage of this method:
a roasted tomato marinara sauce, a
charred tomato, pepper and onion
salsa and oil-packed slow-roasted
tomatoes that can be stashed in the
refrigerator.
Then I talked to Domenica Marchetti, who has written a number
of Italian cookbooks and has a new
one, “Preserving Italy.” Her advice:
do as the Italians do. “When people
do this in Italy, the whole family gets
involved. It becomes an event,” Marchetti explained. The picking of the
tomatoes, the preparation and the processing is all done outside.
While I didn’t rope my family into
the task, I did lug my canning pot into
the yard to heat up on a turkey fryer
base. With the canning pot outside
and only roasting, broiling and a little
simmering happening in the kitchen,
it barely got steamy.
I only have two pounds of tomatoes
left from that 50-pound box. Imagine
what I could do if I got some friends
or family involved?
Basic water bath canning instructions
There are two steps to canning.
First you must sterilize the jars, then
you have to process them when filled.
1. To sterilize, wash jars, lids and
screw bands in warm, soapy water.
Rinse. Set aside. Place rack in the bottom of the canner. Place jars on top
of rack. Fill canner with water until
the jars are covered by about 1 inch.
Bring water to a simmer.
2. Prepare recipe per instructions.
Remove jars from canner. Fill jars,
leaving either a 1/4-inch or 1/2-inch
head space, as the recipe dictates.
Insert a small spatula or similar slender nonmetallic object into the jar
two or three times to help release air
bubbles. Wipe the jar’s rim with a
damp, clean cloth or paper towel.
3. Center lid on top of jar. Place
screwband on the jar. Twist screwband until fingertip-tight.
4. Place jars back into canner, place
lid on canner and bring water to a full
rolling boil over high heat. Let jars
process for how ever long the recipe
states. Turn heat off, remove lid and
let jars stand in the water for 5 minutes. Then remove jars from canner.
Let jars sit upright on a towel. Let
cool, undisturbed, for 24 hours.
New crop of canning books
— “The All New Ball Book of
Canning and Preserving,” (Oxmoor
House, 2016): An update of the classic go-to canning tome. All the recipes
are tested by food scientists for safety.
(The only other entity that can make
such a claim is the National Center
for Home Food Preservation at the
University of Georgia.) The book covers water bath canning, fermenting,
pressure canning, freezing, dehydrating and even curing and smoking. It is
a must-have for beginners and experienced cooks will find it useful as well.
— “Canning for a New Generation,”
by Liana Krissoff (Abrams, 2016):
This is an updated and expanded
version of Lianna Krissoff’s 2010
book, now with 250 recipes. It tackles fruits and vegetables by season
and is packed with inspiring recipes
for what to do with your pantry of
canned goods to get dinner and dessert on the table. My favorite chapter
is “Baked and Creamy Things to Put
Preserves On.”
— “Preserving Italy,” by Domenica
Marchetti. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016): If you enjoy preserving
food and have a fondness for Italian
cuisine, this is the book for you. Italian food expert Domenica Marchetti
walks beginners and experienced canners alike through preserving in oil,
vinegar and alcohol, as well as making
sweet preserves, infused oils, vinegars
and condiments. She even tackles
fresh cheeses and simple cured meats.
Of course, there’s a whole chapter on
tomatoes and sauce.
Oven-roasted marinara
Roasting tomatoes and onions
intensifies the flavor, drawing out the
inherent sweetness of both. This is a
versatile base sauce that can be used
on its own or as the starting point for
other sauce variations. From “The All
New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving,” (Oxmoor House, 2016).
20 pounds plum tomatoes
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (about 2
medium)
Vegetable cooking spray
1 cup dry red or white wine
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoon black pepper
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons citric acid or 1/2 cup
bottled lemon juice
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut
tomatoes into halves or quarters, as
necessary, to create uniform size.
Arrange tomatoes in a single layer on
large rimmed baking sheets. Bake, in
batches, at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until tomatoes are very soft
and beginning to brown. Cool.
Spread onion on a separate large
baking sheet coated with cooking
spray. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until onions are golden brown,
stirring occasionally.
Press tomatoes, in batches, through
a food mill into a large bowl; discard
skins and seeds. Place tomato puree
and caramelized onion in a large
stainless steel or enameled stock pot.
Stir in wine and next 5 ingredients.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 15 to 20 minutes
or until reduced to desired texture.
Remove and discard bay leaves. Stir
in citric acid or lemon juice.
Ladle hot marinara sauce into a
hot jar, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim.
Center lid on jar. Apply band, and
adjust to fingertip-tight. Place jar in
boiling-water canner. Repeat until all
jars are filled.
Process jars 40 minutes, adjusting
for altitude. Turn off heat; remove lid,
and let jars stand 5 minutes. Remove
jars and cool.
Yield: 8 pints and 4 quart jars.
Charred tomato and chile salsa
If you want to make it hotter, use a
hotter variety of chile rather than adding more jalapeños, lest the additional
nonacid ingredients push the pH
August 2016
37
Don’t sweat it
too high for boiling-water-bath canning. From “Canning for a New Generation,” by Liana Krissoff (Abrams,
2016).
6 pounds plum tomatoes, halved
lengthwise, cores cut out
8 ounces red jalapeño chiles (about
10 small), stemmed and halved
lengthwise
2 ounces garlic (about 12 cloves),
peeled
1 pound onions (about 2 small),
peeled and quartered
1 cup cider vinegar (5 percent acidity)
1 tablespoon salt, or more to taste
2 tablespoons sugar
Preheat the broiler to high and set a
rack about 4 inches from the heating
element. Line a rimmed baking sheet
with aluminum foil.
Working in batches, put the tomatoes cut side down on the baking
sheet and broil for about 10 minutes,
until the skin is blistered and black
in places. Put the tomatoes in a large
bowl and set aside. Broil the chiles,
garlic and onions until blackened.
When the tomatoes are cool enough
to handle, pull off the skins and return
only the charred bits to the bowl. In
three batches, put all the broiled vegetables in a blender and pulse until
just coarsely chopped; transfer to a
wide 6- to 8-quart preserving pan and
add the remaining ingredients. Bring
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to a boil and boil for 5 minutes.
Using a jar lifter, remove the hot
jars from the canning pot, carefully
pouring the water from each one back
into the pot, and place them upright
on a folded towel.
Spoon the hot salsa into the jars,
leaving 1/2-inch headspace at the top.
Use a damp paper towel to wipe the
rims of the jars, then put a flat lid and
ring on each jar, adjusting the ring so
that it’s just finger-tight.
Return the jars to the water in the
canning pot, making sure the water
covers the jars by at least 1 inch.
Bring to a boil and boil for 40 minutes to process. Remove the jars to
a folded towel and do not disturb for
12 hours. After 1 hour, check that the
lids have sealed by pressing down on
the center of each; if it can be pushed
down, it hasn’t sealed and the jar
should be refrigerated immediately.
Label the sealed jars and store.
Yield: 5 pint jars.
Bottled whole tomatoes
Bottling tomatoes only makes sense
if you use good, ripe summer tomatoes that are meaty and flavorful. If
you are a gardener, growing your own
tomatoes is your best bet. Otherwise,
look for ripe, unblemished plum tomatoes at your local farmers’ market.
Some markets now offer San Marzano-style tomatoes, which are typically
38 August 2016
longer than plums with a point on the
bottom. They are the classic Italian
tomato for sauce and canning. Recipe
testing notes: If you aren’t as forceful about packing the tomatoes into
the jars, have some extra puree on
hand. Our test produced six quart jars
and needed 2-3 extra cups of puree.
Use widemouth jars. Adapted from
“Preserving Italy,” by Domenica Marchetti. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,
2016).
4-7 cups best-quality commercial
tomato puree
8 pounds ripe plum tomatoes
8-12 tablespoons freshly squeezed
or bottled lemon juice
Bring a large stockpot of water to
a rolling boil and have ready a large
bowl of ice water. In a small saucepan,
bring the puree to a simmer over
medium heat. Reduce the heat to low
and cover to keep warm.
Cut a small “X” in the bottom of
each tomato. Plunge the tomatoes,
in batches if necessary, into the boil-
ing water and boil for 1 minute. Use
a large skimmer or slotted spoon to
transfer them to the bowl of ice water.
Drain the tomatoes, then peel and discard the skins.
Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice to
each jar. Pack the tomatoes tightly
into each jar, fitting in as many as
possible without squishing them. Funnel the puree into the jars, dividing it
evenly, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
Screw the lids on tightly and process for 45 minutes in a boiling-water
bath. Remove the jars and set them
upright on a clean kitchen towel. Let
the jars cool to room temperature
before storing in a cool, dark place for
up to 1 year. Refrigerate after opening
and use within 1 week.
Yield: 4 quarts
Oven roasted tomatoes in oil
Roasting tomatoes in a slow (lowheat) oven deepens their flavor and
enhances that delicious savory quality known as umami. This technique
Congratulations
To The
33rd Pittston
ttston
Tomato
Festival
can turn even anemic out-of- season
tomatoes into something special.
Even if all you have on hand is a box
of pasta and a jar of these tomatoes,
you have the fixings for a delicious
dinner. I also use these as a topping
for bruschetta or crostini, as a sauce
for grilled or sautéed fish, or as a
flavor booster for soups and stews.
Because these tomatoes retain some
juice, they won’t keep as long as those
that are dried completely in the sun or
in the oven. Store them in the fridge
and be sure to keep them submerged
in olive oil to prolong their freshness.
Adapted from “Preserving Italy,” by
Domenica Marchetti. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016). Recipe tester’s
notes: I used cherry tomatoes, but
checked them after 2 1/2 hours in the
oven.
2 1/2 pounds ripe Roma (plum)
tomatoes, about 10 large
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil,
plus more to cover
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
A few thyme sprigs and/or crushed
fennel seeds (optional)
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.
Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise
and arrange them on a large rimmed
baking sheet lined with parchment
paper or aluminum foil. Drizzle the
olive oil over the tomatoes and season
with the salt and a generous grinding
of pepper. Scatter the thyme and fennel seeds over the top, if using.
Slow-roast the tomatoes until they
are partially collapsed, crinkled, and
somewhat dried out, but still soft and
juicy, even a little caramelized, about
3 hours. Be sure to check on them
from time to time to make sure they
are cooking evenly and are not developing any scorched spots. Rotate the
pan if necessary for even cooking. Let
the roasted tomatoes cool completely.
Pack the tomatoes into a glass jar
with a tight-fitting lid. Pour in enough
olive oil to cover them and store in
the refrigerator for up to 2 months. As
you use the tomatoes, top off those in
the jar with oil to keep them covered.
Yield: 1 pint.
Reach the Sunday Dispatch newsroom at 570-655-1418
or by email at [email protected].
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Handicap and Commercial Vans
Golomb’s sells various types of tomatoes at the Tomato Festival.
August 2016
39
40 August 2016

pittston tomato festival!

Transcription

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