On My Mind...A Tomato Surprise!

I was in the basement getting something.  I can't recall what now because the great surprise blew it out of my head.   I moved a harvesting basket from the floor to a rather empty space on one the shelves.  Imagine my utter shock to see two jars of tomato sauce sitting there in plain sight on the shelf.  I thought we had run out of tomatoes in May! 

I had been lamenting not having tomato based anything for weeks....and here I was sitting on two jars the whole time!!!  Yeeeesh....  I'd even agreed to use store-bought sauce on two special occasions despite my pledge to wait until our harvest was ready for a true seasonal experience.  Yeeeeeesh.....

At this point I should probably say that I am a tomato-based foods junkie.  Give me chili, spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, tomato soup, sun-dried tomatoes, whatever you got!  I love it all, except ketchup.  I'd probably include a tomato element in all of my cooking if I had an endless supply.  Okay, maybe not all of it, but a vast majority.

So, needless to say I felt both like I'd won the lottery and like a total bonehead when I found those two jars down there.  I don't know how I missed them.  Its not like they were even hidden.  Silly, silly Beth.  Oh, well it was a really, really nice surprise.

We knew we had to do something special with these jars.  One is still in the cupboard at home.  I am not sure what its destiny will be yet.  The other was promptly made into a simple pasta sauce.  That might not sound special, but we did go all out and treat ourselves to store-bought pasta, multicolor shells, a shape which our pasta machine does not make.  It had been a while since I had anything but fresh, long pasta so it was a real treat. 

Now what to make with the last jar.....

The On My Mind concept come from  Rhonda on her Down to Earth blog.  Won't you join in on the fun?!