I am sure that I have banged on enough about the cold for it to be well and truly realised that I do not fare particularly well in the winter climate. Wait! Correction! Make that the Adelaide winter clime! Mm, have I whinged about this already  Oy Vey … You see I find the colder months in my hometown to be bone chilling with a soggy damp cough-inducing chill that penetrates to the core. At least in the States, despite freezing temps, it is a dry cold and for me, loads more bearable. It also doesn’t hurt that the Yanks know how to heat their homes … (actually, make that Europe as well. Oh, and probably most places across the equator and maybe even the tropical isles dotted around the Pacific – okay, now I am being factitious – but really, probably almost anywhere else in the world has got its heating right. Its. Not. That. Hard! But it seems it is a skill which the Aussies are still struggling to master. Oy Vey …

As a consequence to these first few breaths of icy air (and bearing in mind that the weather has barely turned to serious cold) I’m already considering hunkering down for the season. Now I have not yet surrendered to turning on the heat (oh, okay. well just the once but that’s it ) however I do know friends who are in full winter mode: heat on, hot weather clothes packed up, coats and Gum boots at the ready. Unfortunately I can see me joining the troops any day now though as regardless of what the weather is like outside, as soon as there is a hint of the cooler months my stone home built by my forefathers to accommodate for the slight British constitution to combat the Australian sun, acts like an air conditioner left on high and nine times out of ten, we are left absolutely freezing inside when in all truth it is a stunning sun splashed Fall day. (Mmm, does that make any sense at all??? … Oy Vey … moving right along )

Anyhoo, having spent all that time complaining about the temperatures, these are also the ideal times to enjoy some warming comfort food and why not a hearty steaming bowl of pasta? I am a bit of a sucker for most Italian cuisine so when friend, AG, offered me some of her home-made sauce, I was quick to snap it up!

Tinerate, the reason AG was kindly offering me her sauce … (which, BTW, was completely delicious. Thank you soo much AG ) …  and has pasta sauce in spades is that earlier this year her whole family, (think the entire clan; kids right through to Nonna) gathered for their ‘sauce day.’ This day is a tradition of sauce making that happens every year when the tomatoes are ripe and is most usually performed from the garage of a relatives backyard; the one who has inherited the traditional vats, presses and other paraphernalia required. (Hmm, other than bottles, what else is needed? Anyone …? ) From what I understand, apparently this fabulous tradition began with the first Italian settlers to Australia who, in the new country, could not find sauces as scrumptious as they had in their own villages back home, so they began making their own.

The process basically involves cutting up tomatoes and then squashing them to form a puree which is transferred to bottles that are boiled in a large barrel. The resulting sauce is stored and used in an array of dishes over the coming year

Anyhoo, I have totally fallen in love with this tradition and am sure that with all the family on hand, pitting peeling and pressing, it would be as much fun as Christmas! Now to find an Italian family to adopt me for the day

Till next time.

Tipsy Pipsy xo

PS. Loving the red chairs …