Storing September & Homemade Tomato Sauce

Every year my quilt group goes on a retreat to a beautiful mountain cabin in the first part of September.One tradition that we would never leave out is the reading of a poem, Storing September, by Elizabeth Rooney (see poem below). It is a lovely reminder of the beauty in the world during this time of year.

Yesterday I stored September, but it was in a bottle. My niece, Amy has a beautiful garden including 26 tomato plants. She brought me some and together with a few from my own garden I made tomato sauce that will remind me of these beautiful September days on the long snowy winter days ahead.

Tomato sauce isn’t hard to make,just a bit of time. When a dear friend came over later in the day she asked what I was cooking and said it smelled wonderful all the way down the driveway. That was the sweetest compliment and all I needed to make me want to make a few more batches before the end of fall. (Printable Recipe)

Before September slips away into October enjoy some time storing September- in every sense of the word.

STORING SEPTEMBER

You ask me what I did today,

I could pretend and say

“I don’t remember”,

But, no I’ll tell you what I did today.

I stored September.

Sat in the sun and let the sun sink in,

Let all the warmth of it caress my skin,

When winter comes, my skin will still remember

The day I stored September.

And then, my eyes-

I filled them with the deepest, bluest skies

When winter comes, my eyes will still remember

The day I stored September.

And then there was cricket song to fill my ears!

And the taste of grapes

And the deep purple of them!

And asters, like small clumps of sky-

You know how much I love them.

That’s what I did today

And I know why,

Just simply for the love of it,

I stored September.

-Elizabeth Rooney