Now that’s a juicy tomato

I am the Pepper Man, but I also have an appreciation for tomatoes and I don’t mean attractive young women. It seems many of my women friends love home-grown, garden-fresh, juicy tomatoes. I am distributing tomatoes from my 25 plants to them.

My ties to this vegetable go back 80 years, since I worked side by side with my father, Giovanni, at age seven. We raised 300 tomato plants of the “no name” variety in our Great Depression survival garden. They were plum tomatoes for our meatless spaghetti sauce. My mother, Carmela, canned 100 quarts of thick tomato sauce from our plum tomatoes.

I never ate a raw tomato until I got out of the U.S. Navy in 1946. I probably ate it on a hamburger sandwich.

Many of my friends smell the tomatoes; Why, I don’t know. I can’t smell anything except the aroma of spaghetti sauce.

Today there are many varieties of tomatoes, heirloom and hybrid, determinate and indeterminate. I have raised indeterminate-height plants that have reached my roof.

Pepper plants are a different breed of cat. I can attest to that. Like “Jack and the Bean Stalk”, Mike and his Laparie pepper stalks have now made it to six feet-plus for 18 consecutive years. It is a tough task and hard to explain. Year in and year out, it is a rewarding challenge.

Over the years I have raised many types of tomatoes, such as Early Girl, Champion, Big Girl, Big Boy etc. This year I have a small San Marzano and a large Brandywine tomato. I still prefer sweet red peppers over sweet red tomatoes. Different strokes for different folks.

My all time favorite meal remains spaghetti and tomato sauce, even over a filet. My number one spaghetti sauce today is from La Rocca’s Restaurant. I would be at a loss without their sauce.

Michael J. Lacivita is a Youngstown retiree and a member of the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame and Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.