sauce...

I know all of you summer-loving beach bums are lamenting the end of summer, so you may want to just skip this post before you get even more depressed. I can't help the fact that I love fall. It's only September 4th, but it's been a rainy, chilly day - perfect for a light jacket and an excuse to enjoy hot tea all day long. I will admit I'm not a huge fan of the rain - I'd rather a sun-kissed day every day of the week, but today's dreary weather just seems to be contributing to the overall aura of autumn. With the approach of the season, I'm anticipating all the wonderful pieces of fall that I'll get to enjoy and one of them is cooking.

Cooking is my therapy. I couldn't tell you when I first fell in love with cooking, but ever since I can remember, my mother always made us a homemade meal that was nourishing for body and soul. I can close my eyes and just picture her standing in the kitchen, stirring a pot on the stove or whipping something up in her mixer on the counter as we kids rambunctiously ran through the house like kids will do. There's just something comforting and homey about a meal made from scratch because part of that 'scratch' is the love and passion from the cook themselves. When I'm having a stressful day or just an overall bad day, I love knowing that I can just take refuge in my kitchen with a handful of ingredients and produce something delicious that will put a smile on someone else's face.

Fall makes me think of cooking and baking more just because it's more comfortable to be in the kitchen during the cooler months. Having a gas stove radiates quite a bit of heat into the kitchen and the rest of our house, so we try our best not to use it excessively in the summer when the house is already an oven. With the arrival of cooler weather, I have the freedom to make my favorite recipes and concoct new ones like butternut bisque and creamy potato soup and spicy chili with cornbread and tasty casseroles and delicious bread, cakes, cookies and pies, all made with the countless flavors and ingredients that abound in this wonderful season.

This is all coming about now because my sister-in-law graciously brought over a heaping bag of garden-ripe tomatoes; they're vibrant red color and succulent smell of the outside is invigorating and after just one look at them all, I knew I was going to make some homemade tomato sauce...and I can't wait! Today is just the perfect day to do it, too, because of the perfectly fall chill in the air.