Tomato Season

BLTs and Homemade Tomato Sauce

Illustration by Vicki Smith

When I went to stay with my grandparents as a child, my grandmother and I would go into town, at least once, for some shopping and lunch at the Health Bar in Bresee’s Department Store. Oneonta, NY, often called “the city of the hills” is a two-college town in Otsego County. My grandmother never left the house without being smartly dressed, regardless of the destination. Over her forearm, she carried a roomy purse, straw in the summer, leather the rest of the year, intricately beaded earrings with a matching pin, and Elizabeth Arden lipstick. And, naturally, she never wore jeans or sneakers. It was another time. Even after jeans and sneakers became acceptable for all to wear by the early ‘70s, even passing public school dress codes, she always “dressed up”. Bresee’s was a family-owned store that opened in 1910 and remained in business, with the same owners, until 2005 with the incursion of large chain stores. Collier's Magazine favorably compared it to a Macy's or Gimbels in 1949, quite a compliment for an establishment in a city with a population of under 15,000. I can remember one of the owners, a white-haired gentleman, handing out silver half-dollars to children during the holiday season, waiting to recite my Christmas list to the store Santa, and taking a ride for a dime on the mechanized horse.

The Health Bar was on the first floor (it later moved to the basement) with windows overlooking Main Street, cozy booths, and horseshoe-configured counters. The waitresses, all middle-aged (or so it seemed to me), wore turquoise polyester uniforms with a frilly handkerchief beneath their collarbone secured with their name tag pins. And they all knew my grandmother. My standing order was a BLT; the bacon, lettuce, tomato, and bread securely held in place by little, pink swords and served with potato chips. I still enjoy a BLT, but the tomatoes are so scrumptious from local farm stands here in New Jersey this time of year that the lettuce and bacon aren’t even needed. Just some mayo.

The bonus in August is that baskets of seconds can be purchased at a reduced price and they are perfect for making tomato sauce for your pasta. If you learned to cook at the right hand of your Italian grandmother you may scoff at my simplified version where I don’t skin the tomatoes or remove their seeds, but this sauce is quick, easy, and tastes like summer. The basket of tomatoes that I purchased contained plum, heirloom, and beefsteak tomatoes.

Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups chopped tomatoes, heirloom, beefsteak, or plum

4-5 basil leaves, chopped

1/4 t. dried oregano

a pinch of salt, black pepper, and sugar

Yield: 16 oz.

Directions

Heat a large skillet over medium. Add a splash of olive oil. Add garlic to the pan. Reduce heat and sautée for about a minute. Add the chopped tomatoes. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, and basil. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Pour into a food processor and blend on “high” until it reaches your desired consistency. It’s ready to serve or refrigerate for up to five days.

Photo by me.

Grandma’s costume jewelry

Thanks for reading, liking, commenting, and sharing! I appreciate it.

Vicki