Clean Slate!

Know what this is?

It's our first batch of the Easiest, Best Tomato Sauce Ever! In other words, it's everything we couldn't keep up with last week (while on vacation), roasted and pureed.

I found the recipe in a book called The Quarter Acre Farm by Spring Warren. It's a cool book AND blog about growing enough food on an average residential lot to feed a small family. This is the book I credit with inspiring me to try this:

Yep, those are home-grown carrots! Gerry and I took the plunge and planted our first little raised bed with carrots and parsnips. Farmer Neil didn't sound too optimistic about our chances of growing parsnips, but so far they seem to be doing quite well! We're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll have parsnips for Thanksgiving dinner!

Anyway, about Spring and The Quarter Acre Farm. What I love about Spring is her matter of fact approach to gardening. If she runs into a problem, she just does a little research and experiments with something new. She takes some wrong turns, but it's all part of the process. I don't think there's another gardening book out there that I, a non-gardener, would have enjoyed as much as hers.

And this recipe--what's not to love about a recipe that frankly addresses a problem common to almost everyone? Sometimes you just can't keep up and find yourself with an odd assortment of produce past its prime. This is a GREAT way to give yourself a clean slate without adding to the compost pile!

The recipe is a snap, but do pay attention to the warning to use at least two-thirds tomatoes in your mix. We went a little light on the tomatoes once, and the sauce was a very unappetizing shade of brown!

The next recipe we're trying from the site is Zucchini Noodles! Don't they look fun?