Local Pasta Sauce

I went to the garden to see if there was any decent basil. There was. With it, plus garlic scapes, an onion from my plot, and the first harvest of San Marzano tomatoes, I made a traditional pasta sauce for dinner. There was just enough for the two of us because that is how many tomatoes there were. I look forward to this meal all year.

Without eight seasons of working on Susan’s farm, I wouldn’t be half the gardener I am. Garlic alone is a testament to the value of learning on the farm over successive years. Susan also taught me the value of a vibrant local food system. That said, my views of a local food system have evolved. What matters more is how we engage with the food system to provide nutritious meals year-around. It is important to know the face of the farmer, yet locale is not always the penultimate concern.

When local farmer Paul Rasch gets Red Haven peaches from his relatives in Michigan, I’m likely to buy a bag. This summer treat is better than stone fruit I buy at the grocer, and part of a tradition going back to 2013 when I first worked at his orchard. These peaches have always been good, and they come only once a year. I’m okay with living with their season.

I have not been able to grow an adequate number of good-sized onions. I lean on the grocers because their produce is consistently available and good quality. We like Vidalia onions because of their sweetness. Buying them from a major grocer keeps us in supply. We also get yellow onions and probably should get white onions. When we do, it’s at the grocer.

It makes little sense to buy many apples at the store. We have a couple of great local apple orchards with a wide variety of fruit. During my eight seasons at Wilson’s Orchard I learned which varieties ripen when and our apple consumption follows the season. If we are lucky, I get a good crop at home for cooking, eating fresh and storage. When we don’t have a crop, I buy certain varieties to meet our needs, including a large amount of Gold Rush for storage into winter. We don’t eat many apples the rest of the year and when we do get them from a grocer, we buy organic.

There is no comparison to fresh, home grown tomatoes. When they are in season, we eat some daily. When they are out of season, we rarely buy them at the grocer. With tomatoes, it’s all about the flavor of home grown.

Life with a kitchen garden is a series of moments like the dinner with fresh, home made pasta sauce or from the bite of a Red Haven peach. These moments don’t go on forever, yet if we are lucky, they will repeat from time to time.