I recently visited my favorite store, Costco, and while browsing the vegetables, a box of deep red, vine-ripened tomatoes caught my eye. I bought them on a whim. We used to have a large garden, and nothing could ever surpass the taste of our homegrown tomatoes. These Costco tomatoes looked like they might be close. A day later, Hubby came home from the grocery store with two pounds of tomatoes! He hadn’t noticed the four-pound box I had purchased in the refrigerator.
We suddenly had a dilemma: what to do with all those tomatoes?
I said I would fry some bacon, and we could have BLTs. Hubby dashed that dream by saying we didn’t have enough bacon to match all those tomatoes. He did have a point. Then I suggested making tomato juice. That was an immediate no-no for him, as tomato juice wasn’t his favorite. We both decided to do independent research. I came up with a few ideas that aren’t worth mentioning. But while researching, Hubby came across a story I had written over fifteen years ago about tomatoes and suggested I include it in one of my future posts. I had a clever title for that 2009 essay, so here goes:
The Best Tomato Sauce of All
Due to an abundance of tomatoes from our community garden, Jim and I recently spent a lot of time cooking many different types of tomato-based sauces. Our research on the subject was extensive, and the internet was our biggest resource for new ideas and recipes.
We searched Google, AOL, The Epicurean, Cooks.com, etc. We also revisited our favorite recipes from past years. I remembered that one of those favorites called for porcini mushrooms. After hours of hunting and not finding that particular recipe, I resorted to asking a man for help – my husband, to be exact – someone who occasionally has trouble finding his butt with both hands!
He found the recipe online on the first try and is still gloating.
Most of the tomato sauce recipes we discovered were labor-intensive. For instance, those porcini mushrooms must be soaked in warm water for twenty minutes, drained, squeezed, and finely chopped. The liquid from the mushrooms is strained and reserved for adding to the sauce. These sauce recipes also involved the time-consuming tasks of peeling and seeding the tomatoes, then chopping or pureeing after possibly roasting them.
For one recipe, I spent two hours just preparing the tomatoes. Of course, all the recipes called for different varieties of onions chopped in various sizes. Garlic and olive oil were standard ingredients in all. The types and amounts of herbs and spices varied. We chopped, sautéed, and then simmered our tomatoes for hours in quality Calphalon pans in our home kitchen. Some of the sauces we created included meat—beef, pork, lamb, or even chicken. The sauce was frequently served over some type of pasta but served separately at other times. One of our favorite presentations featured our tomato-based sauce poured over one of our favorite dishes—Julia Child’s meatloaf.
We agreed that all the sauces were delicious, and deciding which one we liked best was difficult. Fortunately, since we froze much of our output, we’ll have all winter to make further appraisals.
It is now nearing the end of tomato growing season. Our garden tomatoes are not as lush and perfect looking as before, but they keep on coming and are still far better than those from the store. I took a bowl of these dribs and drabs of aging tomatoes with us to the Gucci Rowboat, our houseboat on Lake Shasta. For dinner that night, I didn’t want to slave over them all day, so I avoided seeding or peeling them.
After cutting out the bad spots, I haphazardly chopped them along with an onion or two, also nearing the end of their useful lives, and a garlic clove. I sautéed the onion and garlic in olive oil in an old wok, then added a handful of chopped fresh herbs I brought from home. I’m not sure what they all were, but I think they included thyme, oregano, parsley, and some other things. I dumped all these ingredients and my fresh tomatoes into a large saucepan the previous boat owner left behind. I set the burner to low.
There was a half-bottle of red wine on the counter. Why not? I poured some into the pan, had a glass for myself, and then poured a little more into the pan. The sauce began simmering on our marine propane stove. Soon, the delicious aromas permeated the boat. Taking a peek, Jim decided to add some water since I had drunk all the wine.
Waiting for the sauce to cook, we worked on other nautical tasks, completed a few crossword puzzles, watched the national news, and played a DVD movie. The sauce continued to simmer and cook down. I added more water. We took turns stirring whenever we remembered. At times, the sauce stuck a little to the flimsy pan. We were both getting hungry. Jim boiled some linguini pasta and added a package of beef meatballs from Trader Joe’s to the simmering sauce.
We spooned the sauce over the pasta on our plates when everything was ready. I shredded some pecorino and sprinkled it on top. It was delicious! It was rich, tangy, and had a deep tomato flavor that we didn’t find in the more refined recipes we made at home. Maybe the simple things really are best.
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After reading that epistle from the past, I had an epiphany. Since the rough-cooked tomato sauce we made on the houseboat was so good, why not use these vine-ripened tomatoes I got from Costco to prepare the same easy-to-make rough tomato sauce at home? We did, and once again, it was delicious. We had enough for two meals and even froze some. Hubby did most of the cooking, as usual, and I cleaned up afterward—not an easy task in this case. We used nearly all our pans, utensils, and everything else to make the sauce. All the dishes were coated in stuck-on tomato residue. I became exhausted cleaning the kitchen—the floor and walls. I couldn’t reach the stray tomato splatters on the ceiling, thrown from my powerful food processor. They will have to wait until we paint.
My food processor is one of my favorite and most practical appliances. I remember the day we received it, as that’s a story in itself. The UPS guy left it out by our front gate, about twenty yards away from our front door. I don’t blame him. When I went to pick it up, I realized it was very heavy. I barely managed to push it along the walkway with my feet to the door.
At that point, I needed Hubby, so I rang the doorbell. Surprised that I rang the bell, he answered, and I told him I couldn’t lift the package. Hubby, being Hubby, got the hand truck from the garage and wheeled the hefty food processor into the kitchen. Together, we lifted it onto the counter, and it’s been there ever since. No one seems to notice!
All this talk about tomatoes reminds me of an earlier time. Years ago, we visited Boston and stopped for lunch at a quaint yet authentic Italian restaurant. I ordered eggplant parmesan, which was incredibly fresh and delicious. This was during the same time period as our tomato frenzy back home. On my way to the bathroom, I glanced into the tiny kitchen where the cook was busy preparing various dishes.
Curious, I asked the cook what kind of tomatoes he used for their delicious Italian cuisine. He didn’t hesitate: “Canned tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes are too much work, and my sauces taste just as good when I add spices, garlic, onions, and wine!”
I resolved then and there. In the future, I will use canned tomatoes and add all the other stuff. I’ll glance at but not touch those beautiful fresh tomatoes during my next trip to Costco. Hubby can always buy a few at the grocery store. We can make BLTs with them since we have enough Costco bacon for that!
Do you prefer canned or fresh tomatoes for your Italian dishes? Can you tell the difference? Your comments are always appreciated.
4 Comments
I have the same (very heavy) food processor, which gets used once a year either for our grown tomatoes or a combo of ours and those we buy from a Hutterite Colony Community. As long as my husband is willing to help with the spaghetti sauce and salsa canning I’m all for it. Although our garden size is definitely getting smaller!
You can never have too many tomatoes and sometimes simple recipes are the way to go! I do so miss my home grown tomatoes! I never refrigerate tomatoes, even if I cut them I simply put cut side down on a container cover or a handy dandy little tomato saver container. They last so much longer and ripen so well but never as good as home grown. My mother-in-law & I used to make tomatoes juice, the only juice I like. You do need quantity & quality & it is a lot of work, therefore earning it the name Liquid Gold. It had onions & celery in it – I still have the recipe but will probably never make it again, it takes at least an assembly line of 2. Another thing I like to do with tomatoes is make a Greek Salad or just plain tomatoes with raw garlic, especially if they’re Romas. I returned a gifted Food Processor and an Air Fryer because they were so big! Sometimes I wish I had both in a smaller version but maybe small is not the most efficient. I have a new sauce recipe called World’s Best Lasagna. All the tomato ingredients are canned & it is my favorite.
Thank you for your comment Sandy!
Canned tomatoes for sure. Reminds me of making pumpkin pie from our Halloween pumpkin one year. As the chef says, you can’t tell the difference after you add the spices.