Jack’s magic marinara

Got nothing to do this weekend? Let’s make some marinara!

Jack had been waiting all summer for the tomatoes to finally come in so that he could brew a big batch of sausage marinara. He started with one case of tomatoes (approximately 23 pounds) and it yielded 17 pints of sauce.

And oh boy, is it good! 17 pints may not be enough to last us an entire year.

Sorry it’s taken me so long to get this posted, but it took some work to pull the recipe out of Jack. He put this recipe together like Italian grandmothers—not from a recipe, but from his heart. He walked around our local produce stand and said hmmmm, what feels good? What’s calling to me?

I think there may have been a spiritual experience.

So, here’s the thing … this is a great base recipe, one that you can modify and make your own. It doesn’t have to be precise down to the letter. As long as it’s 75% tomato based, you’re golden.

Now that we’ve got all the disclaimers aside, here we go …

Up next: magic marinara

While I attempted (**cough**, emphasis on attempted) to study chemistry Jack spent the weekend making, then canning, a delicious marinara.

Our region of California used to be the largest tomato producer in the state so we have a huge tomato season every August. It has spoiled us. There’s nothing better than candy ripe, locally grown tomatoes. Yum-ee.

It’s been a cool summer so the tomatoes are about a month late coming into season. Every week we’ve checked Larry’s, our local produce stand, for the big bumper crop of tomatoes that we know will start pouring in like an avalanche. FINALLY, we spotted the huge crates of roma tomatoes. Yay! The season has finally begun! $10 for a 22-25lb box. Not great. But not bad either. It’s the beginning of the season. When we hit the season full swing, you can pick up a crate of gorgeous heirlooms for $6. Oooh, man. I can’t wait! I’m starting to feel tingly all over.

But for now …

Jack grabbed a crate of plump, dark red romas and hurried home to make enough marinara to keep us in sauce for a year. Or two.