Andy has fond summer memories of sitting in the kitchen and watching his Grandfather can tomatoes, so every year he goes out at the end of the season and picks up a couple of large crates of tomatoes and recreates the scene. It’s a way of putting summer to slumber and preparing for the long haul of winter ahead, insuring a healthy stock of tomatoes for stew and sauce and stuffed peppers.
This year, thanks to the new kitchen, the process was much more enjoyable, less cramped and confined, and brought back some of the original joy he found in the work. And thanks to a certain wall coming down, I could peek in on the excitement without leaving the dining room table.
At the start of these endeavors, I always wonder whether it’s worth the trouble. All the boiling, the temperature checking, the sealing, and the peeling of those tomatoes – why does he go through such work? By winter’s end, as a pot of Andy’s delicious sauce bubbles on the burner, I’m always reminded of the answer.
