If we ever part, then that might break my heart!"

- George and Ira Gershwin

"This is Sherrie Kennedy, the Tomato Lady …" The message on my answering machine told me it was time once again for my much anticipated annual August visit to Sherrie Kennedy's Farm. This homegrown Gilroy tomato operation began as a card table in a little patch of dirt and has evolved into eight acres of tomatoes.

Over the past four years, I've seen the tomato farm evolve, and this year, Kennedy is growing more than ever. Her 17 varieties of heirloom and specialty tomatoes include chocolate cherry, brandywine, (an Amish heirloom), San Marzano (the best sauce tomatoes in the world), Japanese black trifele (dense red with a subtle green stripe, shaped like little lanterns), Moskovich (deep red from eastern Siberia), red pear piriforms (from Italy), tiger-like (sweet reddish-orange tomato with yellow-green stripes and all the flavor of V8 juice), pink accordion (with pleated segments shaped like the bellows of an accordion), and the bright yellow pineapple tomato (huge beefsteak with an incredibly sweet flavor).

Legend has it that the Cherokee purple tomato (with dark skin and green shoulders) came from seeds shared by the Cherokee people with some of their white neighbors more than 100 years ago. Their descendants passed them down until John Green of Sevierville, Tenn., shared them with Craig LeHoullier, who in turn sent them to a seed company. When they first went on sale to the public in 1991, the tomato was named Cherokee purple in honor of the Native Americans who developed it.

It's been an interesting season so far at Sherrie's Tomato Stand. Men in suits came out to taste test her tomatoes and as of Aug. 15, they are being featured by Nob Hill. Gourmet chefs from The Fault Line in San Juan Bautista and CordeValle Resort in San Martin came to buy tomatoes for their restaurants. Two rocket scientists came by (one from Stanford and one from Lockheed) to experience these tomatoes that actually taste and smell like the ones our grandmothers grew.

Kennedy and her husband have worked hard to perfect and document the many steps necessary for obtaining organic certification. She underwent an intensive land audit this year in which auditors scrutinized every step of how she grows and safely processes her tomatoes from land to store under the highest of standards. She passed with flying colors.

The microclimate on Holsclaw Road has just the right amount of wind and rich soil necessary for producing particularly delicious fruits and vegetables.

"This land could grow golf clubs if they had roots," Kennedy says. "This is God's country. Maybe not in my lifetime or yours, but one day this land will be paved over. For now, I am using this land the way it was meant to be used. This is a heartfelt thing."

If you've ever wished you could capture summer in a jar, imagine a cold winter night warmed with a plate of pasta flavored with a gourmet tomato sauce.

"You can take one of these one-pound tomatoes and slice it, stew it, sauce it, or freeze it," she says, "And it will taste just as good this winter."

Out at Sherrie's Tomato Stand, where visiting is a learning experience, these gourmet tomatoes are a bargain at $3 per pound, the same exact price as last year. To try Sherrie Kennedy's tomatoes, go east on Leavesley Road until you reach Holsclaw Road, turn right and follow it for about a mile until you see large tomato signs. For sale: Noon to 5 daily or until sold out. Info: 842-9350.

Kat Teraji Kat Teraji is communications coordinator for a large non-profit organization that benefits women and children. Her column appears every Thursday in the Take 2 section of the Dispatch. You can reach her at kattoy@verizon.net.