One Local Summer, week 2: Pasta with spicy tomato sauce

Our Fourth-of-July meal was local (local brats, sausages, & sweet corn, grilled at the family party), but I thought that was a cop-out answer, since I posted about local brats last week.
So... I made a really quick trip to the farmers market Saturday and picked up, among other things, locally-made fresh pasta and local tomatoes. I used the tomatoes along with parsley and basil from my garden, and locally-made hot Italian sausage to make a tomato sauce similar to one I made a couple weeks ago. The difference: there was no canned tomatoes, just fresh tomatoes, in the sauce. While this made a great sauce, the hot Italian sausage was less 'watered down' because I had less tomatoes & tomato sauce. This made for a VERY SPICY sauce. I don't usually like spicy things, but, with this, I was glad for the flavor- it worked out. I also had never had fresh pasta before, and it was good as well.

The challenge of making an entirely local meal is new to me, but it has been eye-opening. I've loved having fresh, seasonal vegetables in the house. We've found a butcher shop that has local meat, and are appreciating the quality. I had thought eating locally would be cost-prohibitive, especially because we can't grow much ourselves right now, but it hasn't been. None of our local meals have been elaborate yet, but I know I'm still learning. As I've been told by others, the transition to eating locally is a gradual process, not something all done at once. I'm getting there. I appreciate this summer challenge- it motivates me to keep trying.