Saturday, March 17

I'm grateful for {tradition}

























Last weekend we dedicated a whole day to making the Italian Sugo.   The weather was perfect.

The tomatoes were ordered, they were sublime....perfect sauce quality.

I decided that I would photograph the day as this is a tradition that I'm sure many European families uphold, but the finer details, well....they are not recorded.  So I thought I would ensure that this tradition lives on... I snapped away, and took notes of each critical step.  I donned an apron and worked at it all day, eager to experience it all.  All the while the Italian coffee was on tap, the music tarantella in the background and the conversation entertaining.

My in-laws are experts in their field.  What was probably originally a very thrifty way of preserving tomatoes, is now a labour of love.  We did the whole process outside...using the big brick oven in the shed to boil tomatoes and then sterlise them once bottled.   I doubt that it is cost effective now a days given the amount of work that it involved in comparison to the cost of a tin of tomatoes...but two differences.  First the joy and love of having this annual experience, and secondly of course is the taste.  Nothing can compare.   One days work and I have a years supply!

So today, I'm grateful for...

Traditions....That they are passed on from one generation to the next.  For the joy of seeing my in-laws excited that the next generation is taking an interest and appreciation of 'the way it used to be'.   And my excited that I will ensure that I uphold it in my generation the one that follows.

Join in and be grateful here...


Do you have a family tradition that you love?
Are you making your own family traditions that you will pass onto your children?






Apologies for so many photos!  I couldn't refrain plus I know our italian relatives will love looking at them!!!! 



11 comments:

  1. Brenda I see some of those pics landing in your cookbook! Your right nothing compares with the taste.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are lucky to have those cooking traditions. Good family times! xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love those photos Brenda! Such a lovely tradition - AND a yummy result!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love these traditions. rod and I make our own relish and we were just talking about the need to make a batch. those photos truly represent what's important in life.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You make it sound like so much fun! My grandma and my parents used to make tomato paste and other tomato-based Bulgarian stuff when we were kids and we had to help. I hated it. I guess you get a different perspective once you are an adult. Those tomatoes look divine!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm with Pauline. Those photos are very cookbook worthy - you should totally write a cookbook!! The red tomatoes, the old fashioned oven, the hail mary, the vege patch, so Italian - fantastic! No need for apologies re the amount - they are all gorgeous. I felt for a moment that I was there. You totally rock that apron and the Italian hot Mama look ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. This looks wonderful Bren! And I bet it tastes amazing too!

    ReplyDelete
  8. you look so cute ! love all the photos and love them the bigger size too x

    ReplyDelete
  9. I LOVE these traditions! A friend of mine spent a weekend doing this exact same thing. She totally loved it.

    We have been bottling too. Steve feels that the process is the joy, not the cost.

    So, we're with you. Post coming about our bottling soon too!

    (Not nearly as special as the Italian tradition I think!)

    xx

    ReplyDelete
  10. You gorgeous thing!!! We did ours 2 weeks ago and it was as good a day as you can imagine. Three generations working together. x

    ReplyDelete
  11. gorgeous photos! what a lovely tradition. and the taste! goodness! nothing else compares! :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for stopping by....I love knowing your thoughts and comments... xx