Italian Girls Are Saucy

What I learned in my garden so far this summer:  I'm a Saucy Italian Girl.  Let me explain...

I didn't start the garden for economic reasons.  I don't continue to garden for economic reasons.  I'm fortunate enough to not have to count on what I grow to feed myself.  In fact, if there has been one theme of this blog, it's that for me the joy of garden is sharing it.

I also don't tend to keep track of the store value of what I grow like many other gardeners.  However, today's early morning tomato haul seemed particularly HEAVY, so out of curiosity I put those puppies on a scale and lookie here:  almost 4 pounds of tomatoes (some wouldn't fit on the plate!).  And yes, that's not counting the plate. The scale was set back to zero, so that's all unadulterated red, juicy TO-MA-TERS.

I planted only heirloom varieties this year:  three in total.  Don't ask me what kind, I can't see the tags anymore - it's a JUNGLE out there!   But, let's just say I went shopping at Whole Foods (which I rarely do, but let's just say...).   Their heirlooms are somewhere in the range of 3.99 a pound, so I'm guessing I've got about $15 or so dollars worth of produce on that scale.   At $2.99 a seedling and (who knows really, but let's guess) about 30 more pounds of tomatoes yet to ripen, I'm thinking I made good on my initial investment.  If only my retirement portfolio had that kind of return!

Funny thing is... after three very elegant caprese salads in the past two weeks, all wonderful excuses to dine and wine with friends and colleagues, I've come to the conclusion that what I really want are some good old fashioned San Marzanos to make pasta sauce with.  I'm already buckling under the pressure to showcase the heirlooms in meals!   I just want to can or freeze some tomato sauce!

Turns out, in the end, I'm really just a simple, saucy Italian gal at heart.