This time of year when the nights are getting cool I pick all of my tomatoes whether they are ripe or not. They sprawl out on a huge table in the basement so that I can easily see them ripen and then every week or two when I’ve got enough red ones I make a batch of tomato soup, marinara sauce or salsa. I’ve been caring for the tomato plants since about March when I planted the seeds under grow lights and the world was still covered in a blanket of snow. Then the watering, transplanting, weeding and pruning. It is a labor of love to be sure but the rich flavor of a homegrown tomato just can’t be beat.
I scribbled this marinara sauce recipe down from my husbands grandmother years ago and it has been a family favourite ever since. We always have lamb meatballs in the freezer so if I need a quick easy meal I just cook some up with a jar of this marinara sauce, boil some pasta and voila! Comfort food is served.
It would surely be easier to just buy canned marinara sauce at the grocery store but it’s so satisfying to open a jar and be grateful for past me who did all the work so that now I can just enjoy the fruits of my labor.