October 17th is National Pasta day here in the states, and to celebrate, I have a special market meal for you today.

San Marzano tomatoes are a contested product in all food spaces, but it's rare to see a fresh variety in the farmer’s markets here in Green Bay. Cold Climate Farms has had them at their stall during the tomato season for the last few years, and I recently got my hands on them for the first time in quite awhile. I decided to try this special product fresh against a can of DOP approved San Marzanos I purchased from the grocery store.

Here’s what I learned: Fresh is best. It’s a pain to make tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes. There are a lot of extra steps. However, I do not believe that DOP approved San Marzano tomatoes can beat the fresh grown San Marzano variety if you can get your hands on them. If asked to pay a premium for the DOP tomatoes versus fresh, I’ll take the fresh.

This recipe is written using the fresh tomatoes from our friends at Cold Climate Farms. To make this recipe at home with a can, I recommend using a 28 ounce can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, skipping the steps for preparing fresh tomatoes of course. The mild italian sausage provides most of the spices and seasonings to the sauce, but feel free to use a hot sausage if you prefer.

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During the pandemic, I started growing my own peppers. This year is the first year that I decided not to do that, but I still love making my own hot sauce. To fill that void, I turned to the fresno peppers I purchased from DC Farm For Vets at a recent farmers' market. This is similar to the framework I've used in years past, and it's a great way to use up a surplus of peppers if your garden is outpacing you as the warmer weather ends in Wisconsin.

Serve alongside your white people taco night or use to bring brightness to your scrambled eggs in the morning-- whatever you like!

Let’s face it. I overshop no matter where I go. This is no more true than it is at the Farmers’ Market. Everything looks so good. I want to support my local farmers and craftsmen. Then I wind up with a bag of early season peppers slowly shriveling away in my crisper drawer and garlic scapes getting woodier and drier by the day. There could only be one way to finish them up together.

Salsa verde.

I stopped into the traditional grocery store for a pound of tomatillos and a bundle of cilantro to pull together this spicy green sauce made half local, half grocer. I forgot limes, however, and so a nontraditional salsa verde was born. More white people bullshit on my part.

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