I never wanted this to be political. But the signs are everywhere –
literally. On billboards, at bus stops,
you name it. “Legalize Marinara” in big,
bold letters.
After a lifetime of working with food I’ve always looked
askance at the “Marinara Crowd”. Quite
frankly, they’re a disturbed lot; many of whom have ruined their own lives and
lost close friends to this red devil.
Yes, I’ve heard all the arguments for it: it's a mood enhancer, an appetite
stimulator, and simple to make with just a few easily-grown ingredients from
the backyard garden. Some go to the
extreme using organically grown tomatoes.
Or even worse, the highly potent San Marzano. Non-using supporters say, “If that’s what
they want to eat, great. We got no beef with that.” But that’s just turning a blind eye to the
problem.
Then there are the arguments against. The most well-researched and thought-provoking
are these: the addictive qualities of marinara are so severe that many regular
users order it every time they eat Italian.
Beyond that, marinara addicts have been known to mix their Italian Gravy,
known as “IG”, or “iggy” on the street, with items such as cream and vodka;
creating potentially lethal combinations.
And in the worst cases, marinara has been a gateway sauce to more
dangerous toppings such as Bolognese and Putanesca; which are often cut with
such mind-bending ingredients as capers, anchovies, or chicken livers.
As for me and mine, it’s all about tradition. Having been raised on spaghetti sauce, I
passed Mama’s recipe with pride on to my own children as she did me. Always served with meatballs, hand-made
bracciola, or a good fennel sausage. For
four generations no one ever thought they were missing anything, or ever felt
the need to “experiment” to get their kicks.
That’s the way it’s supposed to be.
Family and food. Safe and legal. We never look over our shoulders at Sunday
dinner.
So, before you take
a pass on this issue, you have to ask yourself:
is legalizing marinara going to make your neighborhood better or worse? Do you want users and growers living next door?
How about your kids and their kids –
what do you tell them?
Now is the time to
think about it because if this screwy law passes, and things go predictably
wrong down the road, as they most certainly will, it will be a lot harder to
put the sauce back in the bottle or the tomato back on the vine than people
seem to think.
Capisce?!
