this sauce is magnificent

Last night we had mustard glazed pork tenderloin with garlic whipped potatoes and just steamed asparagus.  This was all Nancy and all delicious.  Enough so that I have decided pork tenderloin is my next big Crane Dance meat purchase.  And today a patron said he'd bring me in a recipe that involves smothering the tenderloin in fresh herbs.  Hell's yes.  This is the second time I've had asparagus before Michigan asparagus comes in and I've got to say just tasting that greenness made me so excited for spring, summer and fall eating.

The market begins on May 18th.

Not that I'm counting down the days or anything.

Post-supper inevitably led to sitting around the table and talking-which is probably the best part of family meals, but maybe that's just because it reminds me of my family and I miss my family-and drinking coffee (7pm and I unknowingly drank caffeinated coffee.  This is why I will never be a Berghoef.  Those three drank it like it was chamomile tea.  I was up until 11:30 trying to turn off my brain) and somewhere between the "remember when" stories and the inevitable library shop talk, the conversation turned to tomato sauce.  I am certain Peter was mocking my insistence on making my own sauce for everything from spaghetti to lasagna and I found myself getting oddly defensive.  "Whaa--?  Did you not just...are we not both wildly disappointed every time we end up buying a jar of sauce?  It's too sweet and too salty and doesn't taste like tomatoes?  Let alone how much jarred sauce costs compared to buying cans of tomatoes (or hopefully next winter having canned my own tomatoes!) and tomato paste?"

Tomorrow night we're having spinach and ricotta stuffed shells.  I made my own sauce.  I sauteed a fair amount of garlic and 1/2 an onion in olive oil,  added 1 large can of tomato puree and 1 small can of diced tomatoes, tossed in a glug of red wine vinegar, some black pepper, oregano, and thyme, a teeny bit of cayenne pepper and, just as it started to simmer, I tossed in the end of the rind of some really good parmigiano-reggiano.

Jarred sauce, indeed.