I usually use my space on the "Series of Tubes" to make sarcastic comments or pontificate on issues of importance to, well, primarily just me. This time I have come across an issue of major importance, particularly to warehouse club shoppers and people who grow their own tomatoes (I am both).
These delicious little bites of tomato sweetness don't last long. They are so plentiful in mid to late summer that sometimes they start to shrivel before they can even be picked. Warehouse clubs sell them in huge containers that are cheaper than the containers less than half of their size at grocery stores. They can't last forever.
While driving to Wisconsin last week, I was marveling at the farmland, and the beauty of the route. Proud to be an Iowan for so many reasons, but mainly because from here, we feed and fuel the world with the yield of our dirt and sweat. I considered my commitment to local food. I am not insane, nor am I rich. But I try to get at least 50% of my food from local sources during the food producing months of the year.
The last few years, I have been able to grow at least 20% of the food that we eat during fair weather months. I couldn't be more pleased about that than when I am producing my salsa, preparing Squash and Zucchini Kabobs on the grill, cooking a red sauce from the tomatoes and herbs that I have grown and pouring it over spaghetti squash I just brought in from the yard, and the green beans picked off the plant and steamed, 20 minutes from garden to plate. I love dropping off food that I have grown to family and friends (although this rarely happens anymore as I learn to can and otherwise store food for longer periods of time). I love eating food that I know was grown with love and care, almost as much as I love eating food that was prepared with love and care. Those who knew me in my youth will remember that food served two purposes for me, it was a medium of socialization (thanks to Stacie and Mark for all the late nights in search of the perfect chicken strips and seasoned fries and Scott for participating in my quest to locate or create the most ridiculously over-sauced pizza possible), but also a necessary mechanism of survival that in many cases I would rather have done without. It becomes obvious with each year I grow older and fatter, that food is a delight, it is a responsibility, it is a chore and it is a great pleasure.
So there I am driving and admiring and listening to NPR endlessly (Saturday NPR on Sirius/XM is all of my favorite shows). The Splendid Table, which has been a great source of inspiration for my modest culinary prowess, was at the point in the show where Lynn Rosetto Kasper answers phone calls from listeners. The question was along the lines of, "What can I do with these shriveled grape tomatoes, besides throwing them away?" LISTEN HERE This has always been an issue for me. I hate to waste food.
If you listened, you will have heard her answer, a recipe for making sauce. Her recipe includes onions, which I do not like. So I made my own. I used 1/4 cup of pressed garlic instead of onions. I also added 10 total leaves of both plain and Purple Ruffles Basil (from my own plants), a tablespoon of freshly ground Telicherry pepper and a dash of Sea Salt (India). After cooking this at medium temperature for 30 minutes, I added a diced Lemon Boy tomato and two diced Roma Tomatoes. I cooked it on low heat for another hour. PERFECTION. Best Red Sauce Ever. So sweet. Pour it over Whole Grain Linguine (I prefer whole wheat), ravioli, any pasta or dip the bread of your choice in it. I may do this to these tomatoes on purpose in the future.
If you wish you knew more about food, and how to cook and what to buy, give The Splendid Table a listen. It is a great show, and not at all boring. Totally free on their website CLICK HERE , and as with all National Public Radio or American Public Media shows, if you listen and use it more than a couple times a year, throw a couple of bucks their way during the pledge drive.
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