Super basic tomato sauce

Sometimes I want a little sauce for my pasta, but I really hate the canned stuff.  Also I always forget to buy it.

This recipe is best when tomatoes are at their best (Late June-early September.  This year doesn't count.  It's weird.) and with your own or farmer's market tomatoes.  The stuff you get at the store usually ripens on the shelf and just lacks a certain...tomato-ness.

Great with some ricotta and lemon zest on twirly noodles (the name currently escapes me...)

Sasha's Super Basic Tomato Sauce
6 medium tomatoes, roughly diced or 2 quarts of cherry tomatoes, halved or 12 roma/plum tomatoes diced
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste.  I like more.  LOTS more.)
2 tbsp olive oil

Putting the olive oil in first (so it coats the bottom of a sauce pan), toss everything in all together.  Heat over medium high until the mixture starts to boil, then give it a few good stirs and drop to medium low.  Cook whatever you're having with it, preferably letting it simmer at least 10 minutes to meld the flavors.

That's it!

You put WHAT in your chilli?!

I came across the basis for this recipe in a vegetarian cookbook I found and had forgotten all about.  It called for, get this, carrots.  I laughed, but figured that I couldn't really taste anything too subtle anyway (having a cold at the time) so no harm in giving it a go.  I was shocked (SHOCKED, I tell you) to find that carrots seem to be the missing ingredient in chilli.  They give it a flavor I didn't even know I was missing.

So give it a try.  Really.  It's super cheap to make and relatively fast, so no harm done.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 red pepper diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced no larger than the last joint of your pinky finger!!!*
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 cans of pinto beans, drained
5-10 slices of pickled jalepenos, diced super fine
Black pepper to taste

Directions:
Drizzle olive oil around the bottom of a large pan (I used a spaghetti pot) and heat over medium high.  Dump in the onion and garlic and snap a lid on that sucker. (be careful of oil spitting up out of the pan)  Lower the heat to medium and let cook for 10 minutes.

If you haven't already done it, chop the pepper and carrots while you're waiting.  Lift the lid, dump in pepper and carrots and give it a good stir.  Put the lid back on and let cook for another 10 minutes.  Take off the lid and get it out of your way, you won't need it again.  Jab at the largest carrot chunk you see with a fork: the fork should slide right in. (If it doesn't, you probably didn't listen to me about the size.  That's ok, just stick the lid back on and check at 5 minute intervals until you can sucessfully jab that carrot)

Dump tomatoes and beans on top of everything.  Turn heat back up to medium high.  Stir a few times, till everything is warm, then dump in the jalepenos.  Let cook for about 5 minutes (this is flavor-merging stage), then serve into bowls.  Very delicious with a sprinkle of cheddar.


Bonus!  It's good cold, too.

*If the carrots are too big, you'll wait forever for this to be done

Sneaky Candy

Got the idea of these from a Real Simple magazine several years ago. I don't have the chance to make them often, but they're really very good when I get one before my father eats them.

Ingredients:
1 bag dried apricots blended/chopped/otherwise murdered
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Chocolate chips (optional)
Extra sugar and nutmeg (optional)

Directions:
Blend the apricots, sugar, and nutmeg until as smooth as you can get it. Roll them into balls about the size of a ping pong ball and stick in the fridge to harden (About 1 hour)

Coating options:
Chocolate-melt chocolate by placing chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwaving 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time, until smooth chocolate forms. Dip 1/2 of the apricot balls in the chocolate and set on a waxed cookie sheet to harden.

Sugar/nutmeg-mix together sugar and nutmeg to your taste preference in a large flat-bottomed bowl. Roll balls in the mix


No matter which coating option you chose, they're cute in mini muffin cups.

Quick and Easy: Meaty Mushrooms

Another quick and easy recipe: this can be used as a substitute for beef tips in a lot of recipes. Great with mashed potatoes

Ingredients:

• One large container of Button mushrooms, cleaned and thickly sliced
• One medium onion, sliced
• One tablespoon oil
• Salt and Pepper
• Fresh Sage, chopped
  

Directions

Put oil into a large skillet and heat over medium (oil should not pop) Add onions and stir until just tender. Add mushrooms and cook until onions are translucent and mushrooms have browned. Add sage, toss to incorporate. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Quick and Easy: Summertime Stirfry

This stirfry is the taste of summer for me, being a dish passed down in my family for years and cooked with only the freshest vegetables.

Ingredients:

• One yellow squash, well washed, sliced and cut into quarters
• One zucchini, well washed, sliced and cut into quarters
• Half an onion, diced
• Three cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
• One tablespoon of oil

Directions

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and toss in everything. Cook under the squash and zucchini are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or cold.

Vegetarian Bean Burgers

Let me share a secret with you: what makes most burgers taste the way they do (unless you're one of those people that just eats it plain) is the condiments, not the burger itself. These burgers, with condiments, will taste almost exactly like a regular burger, though the texture is a little different

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of black beans (I use low sodium, but that's optional)
• 2 cups cooked sushi rice
• 1 medium onion, ends cut off and paper removed, quartered
• 2 jalapeno peppers, half and seeds removed
• 3 cloves of garlic, paper and end removed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Put both cans of black beans in a colander and rinse thoroughly. Drain, and shake until as dry as possible (patties will not form if too much moisture remains on the beans!) Set aside

Place the onion, peppers, and garlic in a food processor or blender (I recommend a food processor, as blenders tend to suck a certain amount towards the bottom and then fail to process the rest) and pulse until everything is roughly chopped. Be careful not to over-process or the onion will liquefy. Scrap into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Put half of the beans and approximately 1/2 of the rice into the food processor and blend until totally smooth. Mix the puree and remaining beans and rice in with the onion mixture. Stir well. The mixture should stick together without being crumbly or too liquid (shouldn't ooze off the side of your hand if you pick up a handful)

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Pat mixture into approximately eight flat, round patties. If the patties are not flat, they may break when you flip them.

Bake for 10 minutes. Gently flip the burgers, making sure the spatula is under the whole burger before lifting. Bake 10 more minutes.

If you want to add cheese, do so in the last minute of baking.

Enjoy!


Notes:

These are also excellent with sour cream and chives as an appetizer (if you cook them in smaller patties, keep an eye on them so they don't burn)

They reheat well in toaster ovens, but microwaving tends to make the patties soggy.

Quick and Easy: Herb and Tomato Pasta

I like this recipe for its simplicity and how pretty it looks on a plate. It's quick, easy, and can be served either hot or cold.

Ingredients:
1 box pasta noodles of your choice (I recommend thin spaghetti or linguine)
1 can diced tomatoes, low sodium (If using fresh tomatoes, substitute about two cups chopped.)
1/4 cup finely diced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
1 teaspoon fresh chopped marjoram
1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage
Chopped parsley to taste

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions or until desired texture. Set aside for warm, or drain and set in refrigerator for cold pasta.

Put all other ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined. Toss with pasta.

Quick and Easy: Broccoli Kimpara

I am one of those people who doesn't like to steam the broccoli stalks when I'm making broccoli for dinner or snacks or whatever. At the same time, I really hate throwing away such a large portion of anything I've bought. So Broccoli Kimpara is the perfect solution!

Ingredients:
1 tbs oil (I prefer vegetable, but it's up to you)
1 pinch red pepper flakes
4 stalks of broccoli, florets cut off

Directions
Cut the broccoli stalks in half width-wise, then slice into matchstick thin pieces. Heat a skillet over medium heat with the oil, then add broccoli pieces. Stir fry until the broccoli becomes a bright shade of green, approximately 5 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and stir fry for another 2 minutes. Eat hot or cold.

In my experience, this recipe will keep in your refrigerator in a air-tight container for about a week. Anything longer and it starts to get that rotten broccoli smell.