Freshonomics

Today, a topic close to our fair blog mistress’s heart.  From the time I can remember, my family always had a garden.  My earliest memories are of the community plots the military designated on base, not far from the housing where families would gather, section off the plots with chicken wire and commence to digging and growing.  Then when my dad retired we moved back South where my parents were from and dad tilled a fairly large section of the upper yard to continue gardening.  The outdoor flowers and landscaping were my father’s domain, my mother could make anything grow inside the house.  Any houseplant that had a reputation for being impossible to work with, she could make flourish under her hand.  African Violets?  Pfft.  Someone could give her one that was at death’s door that had never bloomed and within weeks the thing would be blooming its ass off like someone had threatened it with certain death.  Maybe that was her secret.  Anyway, the garden was more of a team effort with my dad doing most of the sweat-worthy work of prepping the soil, then the rest of us would get out there and dig and plant.

Tomatoes.  I couldn’t get enough of them and would surreptitiously nab the cherry tomatoes off the vine under cover of playing with the dog in the backyard.  I’d be pissed as hell to find that a bird had gotten to one that I’d had my eye on before I could.  Have you ever had a sun warmed tomato, straight off the vine?  It ruined me forever.  I can’t stand to buy tomatoes out of season at your run-of-the mill grocery store.  They might as well be reddish orange sponges for all the taste they give.  You’re probably better off using canned for a recipe, seriously.  I remember the okra plants, climbing like skyscrapers to heights above my own.  I am not an okra fan, but will happily eat them in gumbo.  My mother loved boiled okra, but do you know what happens to okra when you boil it by itself?  It produces a liquid that for all the world looks and acts like…snot.  If it’s your thing, good on you, but do keep it miles from me, mmkay?  Giant eggplants.  Mom would slice them into spears, coat them in an egg wash, dredge them and fry ‘em up.  It was the only way she could get us to eat it.  Bright yellow squash, so sweet.  Green beans, my mom’s favorite I think.  I learned early how to prep then for processing, spending hours with a colander and a paring knife to remove blemishes, snapping away at the kitchen table.  The results were blanched, placed into a freezer bag then tossed into the freezer.  Fresh green beans with ham hocks all winter long.  Then with the onset of fall, the collard greens.  Mom could barely wait for the first cold snap.

So with all this and then some growing, we kids were sent out daily to peruse the garden and determine what was ready for picking.  Our folks gave us one guiding lesson I think and then we had to learn from trial and error.  So while I do not have-nor have I ever-a garden of my very own, I’m no slouch when it comes to selecting fresh vegetables at the farmer’s market.  Indeed, when my mom needed ingredients that were out of season or that we didn’t grow, it was off to the farmer’s market, so I learned of the bounties early there, too.  Now, even with all of this in my background, I am not a rabid farm-to-table kind of person, I do not insist that everything I buy must be organic or heirloom or whatever the best and newest thing might be.  However, I am a huge believer in the fact that more often than not, the fresher and better grown/raised the ingredients, the better your final dish will taste.   I picked up a 3lb chicken at the market for Thanksgiving last year on a whim and was absolutely blown away at the difference that a chicken that was given no antibiotics or animal byproduct feed could make.   The mashed potatoes with organic Yukon Golds were moister than I’d ever had.  The tomatoes, juicy and with good acidic bite.  And the strawberries…I just bought a pint this weekend and the smell made me close my eyes and remember the farms I went to as a child to help pick our share of the season.  I can’t get that at the local Publix.

What follows is a recipe I like to make when I have a couple of pounds of firm, fragrant fresh tomatoes in hand.  And I’ll even provide you with an instructional tip for preparing the tomatoes, gleaned randomly years ago from Ms. Stewart herself.  Remove the stem area, keeping as much of the tomato intact as possible.  Slice the tomato from side to side instead of top to bottom to keep the seed pockets intact.  Run your finger or a small knife around the edges and scoop the seeds out.  Now with a hollow half of tomato in hand, grab your grater and using the coarse side, run the tomato up and down the grater using enough pressure to extract the tomato innards over a bowl.  All you should have left is the skin and perfectly coarsely chopped tomatoes which are outstanding for this recipe.

Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato & Butter Sauce
(adapted from “Family Circle Quick & Easy Recipes” c2001)

2lbs tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
4 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound thin spaghetti
3 tablespoons shaved or grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives

1. Combine tomatoes, butter and garlic in a large saucepan. Simmer over medium heat, uncovered until sauce has reduced, about 30 minutes.  Add salt.

2. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water until al dente firm, but tender. Drain well.

3. Toss spaghetti either in the pot or a serving bowl with tomato sauce, Parmesan and chives.