Thursday, February 7, 2008
Boston winter calls for UGLYRIPE warmth
Read the glowing review here: Santa Sweets' UGLYRIPE Tomato: Endless Summer
Friday, January 18, 2008
A Little Taste of Summer in Every Bite
So we were thrilled when we came across this article on HGTV.com, “UGLYRIPES Give Tomato Fans an Alternative.” We’re glad to see our UGLYRIPES get the recognition they deserve. After all, we work really hard year-round to make sure our tomato connoisseurs receive only the best fruit our fields have to offer.
A big thank you to all of you who send us your comments and questions. We love hearing from you! Want to send us more email? Write to santa.sweets@gmail.com.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Spotlight: Manuel
Greetings fellow tomato lovers! My name is Manuel, V.P. of Operations at Santa Sweets. Before joining the Santa Sweets team, I grew tomatoes, lettuces and herbs in my native Puerto Rico, and melons, watermelons, peppers, and tomatoes in
It was real desert farming!
My typical day begins bright and early at 6:30 a.m. Most of my morning is spent preparing inventories, checking orders, and meeting with the production and sales employees. Then I spend some time working with the sales team finding new and exciting ways to get our products to new restaurants and grocers who want to taste the fruits of our labor, literally!
After putting in some time at the office, I visit the packing house and help my coworkers prepare to ship the UGLYRIPES to your local grocery store.
4 large UGLYRIPEs cubed at ½ - ¾” chunks
3 oz green olives, chopped
3 oz black olives, chopped
½ tbsp, minced garlic
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil, reserve 2 tbsp.
¼ bunch Cilantro, finely minced
¼ bunch green onion chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients except bread and cheese into a bowl and allow it to marinate for about an hour. Cut French Baguette in ¾” rounds.
Enjoy warm!
Repeat until all the bruschetta is gone and go buy more UGLYRIPES to start the process all over again!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
What's in a name?
Evidently, quite a bit for the Bloeser family of
As the story goes, Otto’s father, Paul, has always liked the name Otto. When Paul was born, his father wanted to name him Otto, but his mother didn’t care for the name and decided to name him Paul. Since learning of his name that never was, Paul has wished to name one of his own children Otto.
After getting married 12 years ago, Paul’s wife, Amy, already had a son named Thomas. When they got pregnant with a second child, Paul tried to get the name Otto in the mix, but was shot down. The baby boy was eventually named Matthew. They now had two boys, Thomas and Matthew.
After learning of the latest pregnancy, Paul and Amy began throwing around more names. “I tried to bet her that if it were a boy I got to name it, and if it were a girl she could, but she knew what I was up to,” Paul says.
Well, one day while grocery shopping, Paul purchased a package of Santa Sweets™ Grape Tomatoes. As Amy helped unload the groceries, she took one look at the package of our grape tomatoes and was floored at what she saw. There on the packaging was our Santa Sweets Trio, Tom, Matt and Otto (Thomas, Matthew and Otto). After some reassurance from Paul that this was not some trick and verifying it during her next visit to the store, Peanut (what they called him after the first sonogram), became Otto.
Born 13 weeks premature (2 lbs. 9 oz.), Otto was indeed more like a grape tomato, than one of our larger UGLYRIPES®. “He is doing great even though he is still in the intermediate NICU. We are hoping to get him home this weekend,” Paul recently told us.
All of us here at Santa Sweets wish Paul, Amy and Tom, Matt and Otto the best.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
USA TODAY on the UGLYRIPE®
USA Today: "It's a Fight in Florida, and it's Ugly"
Thursday, September 27, 2007
UGLYRIPE in the news...
Our UGLYRIPE contest has been making its way through the grapevine. Here are some stories from around the nation.
Prevention Magazine- "World's Ugliest Tomato"
Earthtimes.org- "Santa Sweets Picks 'Ugly Tomato' Contest Winners"
Monday, September 24, 2007
And the winners are...
Chieko Arimura of Cupertino, CA, Vincenzo Domingo of Long Island, NY, Nadine Gotschall of Louisville, OH, Odes Hoogeveen of Oxnard, CA, Stephanie Mallette of North Canton, OH, Gregg Meyer of Nevada City, CA, Courtney Newman of Hollywood, CA, Lori Patterson of Richmond, VA, Rita Rudner of Buena Park, CA and Cheryl Thomas of Virginia Beach, VA are the proud owners of some repulsive produce, and the lucky recipients of a box of UGLYRIPEs. Each winner can choose to have their case shipped now or in the dead of winter when the summer tasting UGLYRIPE might be a refreshing reminder of warmth. Kelly Bevan, an eleventh winner, is from the UK.
We had a great time seeing everyone's ugly tomatoes and we hope you'll share your ugly tomato pictures with us again!
Check out these UGLY winning entries!
Gregg Meyer, Nevada City, CA
Stephanie Mallette, North Canton, OH
Odes Hoogeveen, Oxnard, CA
Nadine Gotschall, Louisville, OH
Vincenzo Domingo, Long Island, NY
Chieko Arimura, Cupertino, CA
Cheryl Thomas, Virginia Beach, VA
Rita Rudner, Buena Park, CA
Lori Patterson, Richmond, VA
Kelly Bevan, United Kingdom
Courtney Newman, Hollywood, CA