15? Minute Fresh Tomato Sauce

Here in Southern California the first summer heirloom tomatoes are lining the tables at the farmer's market. For me, it's hard to imagine using canned tomatoes for something during tomato season. So to use the freshest ingredients for our homemade pasta, I searched recipes from the internet for pasta sauce I could make from the freshest tomatoes.

I found this sauce to be delicious, it took a bit longer than 15 minutes, but do you know what is a great way to relieve a week of stress? Squeezing the seeds and juice out of warm tomatoes right into the sink with your bare hands.  How rewarding! Joey didn't love the sauce at all--he found it boring, he found it "tomatoey".  Pity. If you don't like tomatoes like my husband, then you should not make this sauce. If you do--try it tonight and use red & yellow tomatoes to make this pretty orange color!

We had this sauce on top of our previously frozen fresh homemade pasta. The pasta comes out of the freezer without defrosting and is ready in 3-4 minutes. It still tastes better than dried pasta but closer to store-bought fresh pasta out of the freezer.


slightly adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 lbs + tomatoes of any kind
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
5 leaves basil, chopped
2 t olive oil
1 t salt + more to taste 1 t pizza or Italian spices
dash of white balsamic vinegar (optional)
pasta & cheese for serving

1. Boil a large pot of water
2. Score an X on tomato bottoms. Add tomatoes to the water, cook for 2 minutes, remove with a pasta spoon and let sit in a bowl 5 minutes to cool.
3. Peel the tomatoes and discard the peels.  Squeeze the extra juice and seeds into the sink. Really get your hands dirty
4. Toss pulp with salt and spices in a bowl
5. Heat oil in a large saute pan, add garlic and cook for 30 seconds
6. Add the tomatoes and cook 2 minutes. Strain the pulp into a bowl and let the juices boil 2-3 minutes until thickened.
7. Puree the pulp with a hand blender and add it back in
8. Salt to taste, heat till heated through, serve over pasta with a little cheese and basil sprinkled on top

Roasted Tomatoes

I read a recipe while perusing my regular blogs about roasted tomato soup. I thought maybe I'd make it since I had tons of tomatoes around and garlic and all the things in the soup. So one night while we were already doing a bunch of cooking I decided to roast up my tomatoes.

But I didn't re-read the recipe.

So I didn't make any soup.

Cause I didn't follow it at all. But I'm still interested in trying it sometime.

So I just roasted some tomatoes with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. But in the end they were really tart. Really really tart. I didn't like them that much actually which is really sad because I do love me some tomatoes.

So after they were cooked I added some sugar, and then they were okay, but not the best. But don't they look pretty?

You have to try this

It is tomato season. I love tomatoes from tomato season. They are sweet and juicy and totally different from your average store-bought tomato. The best ones come from my Grandpa's farm or from your average home-grower. Unfortunately, I can't get tomatoes from Indiana in CA, so I have to deal with the farmer's market instead--which is still delicious.

This time though I couldn't wait for the Farmer's market so I went to whole foods and paid the premium for mixed heirloom cherry tomatoes. Then I also bought some fresh mozzarella balls--I wanted burrata but was unable to shell out the $12 for it, so I stuck with this brand that was only about $4. I also purchased some lite rye wasa for the structure.

This is so delicious! The textures, the flavors the deliciousness. IF for some crazy reason you aren't a total tomato fan, don't try this. But for everyone else, make it now.

3 small balls fresh mozzarella (burrata preferred, buffalo approved)
2 sheets Lite Rye Wasa
1 small packet salt
1/2 cup heirloom cherry tomatoes or 6 slices fresh farm grown in season tomatoes

1. Slice cheese and place on wasa. Add sliced tomatoes and sprinkle with a bit of salt. Serve immediately. Repeat.

Italian Shepherd's Pie

This recipe is from a new cookbook I got and has been a big hit -- easy to make and it is very fun to serve in little individual casserole dishes (these are ones that Kath gave me). I think I am using a little more meat and you can decide if you really want to make it into less than six servings. And, the tomato paste in a tube rather than opening a can helps.

Italian Shepherd’s Pie

PREP: 30 MINUTES BAKE: 25 MINUTES STAND: 15 MINUTES OVEN: 375°F

¾ cup shredded pizza cheese or Italian cheese blend (3 ounces)

2 cups mashed potatoes or refrigerated mashed potatoes -- it takes about a lb of potatoes if you make them yourself

8 ounces lean ground beef

4 ounces bulk sweet Italian sausage

½ cup chopped onion 2 cups sliced zucchini or yellow summer squash

1 14 ½ -ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained

½ of a 6-ounce can (1/3 cup) tomato paste

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Paprika (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Stir 1/2 cup cheese into potatoes; set mixture aside.
2. In a large skillet combine ground beef, sausage, and onion; cook until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir zucchini, undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, and pepper into meat mixture in skillet. Bring to boiling.
3. Divide meat mixture among six 10-ounce individual casserole dishes or ramekins. Spoon mashed potato mixture into mounds on top of hot meat mixture in dishes. Sprinkle with remaining quarter cup cheese. If desired, sprinkle with paprika.
4. Place dishes in a l5 x 10 x l-inch baking pan. Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings.

Source: diabetic LIVING Cookbook

Fixing Martha's Spaghetti Sauce

Last week I decided to whip up this quick pasta dish for dinner. It's Martha's recipe so I figured it would be good, I'm usually satisfied with her meals. The pasta sauce had a nice flavor--but it wasn't really sauce in any way. It was just a jumble of meat and tomatoes. Joey likes his pasta to be saucy and this wasn't it.

Disappointed, I couldn't bring myself to throw the whole pot away (we ate it anyway but I also undercooked the pasta which did not help my cause). Joey and I decided that we could fix this sauce with a little of this and a little of that. So, I picked up some tortellini at the store (because it was on sale and it was just a little bit different than the pasta we'd just had) along with a small can of tomato paste and a 14.5 oz can of Hunts tomato sauce.

I heated the leftover sauce in the pan and added 2 T (roughly) of tomato paste and the entire can of tomato sauce. I simmered the sauce for about 20 minutes and served. It was much better! The flavors were still there from Martha's original recipe with the addition of a more saucy feel that really made the past better.

I also omitted the carrot from the original recipe because we forgot to get a carrot. Also, it calls for whole tomatoes. I hate using whole tomatoes from the can because no matter how much I "break up with back of spoon" while cooking or cut with scissors before putting them in the pan, I end up with gigantic chunks of tomatoes in there. I understand that whole tomatoes come in tomato juice, have more flavor, and no skin--but I still can't get behind it. Next time, I may consider pureeing the can of tomatoes in the food processor first and that might actually make the sauce saucier without the additional tomato sauce.

This recipe with the addition of the tomato sauce keeps going and going. If you make it and your family is two or smaller, I recommend freezing half of it. So far we have had this pasta sauce three times and there is still enough left over for another meal for me (and remember, Joey piles on the sauce so if you're a light saucer then it's going to be even more).

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 carrot, grated (about 1/2 cup) - see note above
  
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3/4 pound ground beef
• 1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes - see note above
  
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Pasta of your choice
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) tomato sauce
• 2 T tomato paste
  

Directions

1. Heat butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium. Stir in carrot, onion, and garlic. Add ground beef, and cook until it turns from pink to brown, about 5 minutes.
2. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, and tomatoes and their liquid, crushing them with the back of a large spoon. Stir in milk, bay leaf, thyme, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Simmer 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook fettuccine until al dente according to package instructions, about 12 minutes. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water; drain fettuccine, and return to the warm pot. Add meat sauce, and toss. Add pasta water as needed if the sauce seems dry.

Hash Browns with Sausages and Roasted Tomatoes

As with any good bed and breakfast, a hot breakfast is provided to their guests each morning. My parent's departure was today and I wanted to send them off with something filling and hot.

We received a cookbook from Joey's Aunt Trisha for our wedding entitled Easy Breakfast and Brunch and I was excited to have a chance to use it. I looked through the recipes until something caught my fancy and landed on Hash Browns with Sausages and Roasted Tomatoes. This breakfast turns out to take a lot of time but luckily I did a little planning ahead. Leave at least 40 minutes to make this unless you have either a helper or prep early.

I served this breakfast with fried eggs which were a pretty good accompaniment. I recommend serving this with some kind of egg.

Hash Browns with Sausages and Roasted Tomatoes
Serves 4 barely
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs potatoes, diced
4 T butter
1 L onion, finely chopped
12 premium breakfast sausages
2 T olive oil
20 cherry tomatoes, on the vine (or a whole basket from the farmer's market)
1 T balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Directions:
NIGHT BEFORE:
While making dinner, boil potatoes for 10-12 minutes until just tender. Store in a tupperware container in the refrigerator until morning.
Finely chop onion and place in a bag or tupperware in the refrigerator
MORNING OF:
Preheat oven to 400
1. Melt 4 T butter in a large non-stick frying pan. Add onions and saute 15 minutes until soft and golden.
2. While the onions are cooking, place the sausages on a roasting pan (although I just used a jellyroll pan). Toss with 1 T olive oil.
3. Spray another jellyroll pan with cooking spray. Toss the tomatoes on the prepared pan with the remaining olive oil
4. Mash potatoes slightly and season with salt and pepper. Add potatoes to the onions and cook 15-20 minutes until crispy
5. Meanwhile, put the sausages in the oven on the bottom shelf, cook 20 minutes, turning once.
6. After 5 minutes of cooking the sausages, place the tomatoes on the top shelf and roast 15 minutes.
7. Remove sausages from oven and let rest.
8. Remove tomatoes from oven and toss with balsamic vinegar. Put the tomatoes back in the oven and roast 5 minutes more.
9. Serve potatoes, sausages and tomatoes with their juices together with eggs.


(don't you love that spoon wearing the ladle hat? I wonder if my parents did that on purpose)

First Hard Freeze

Fall's first hard freeze in our area of north central Indiana means that all remaining vegetables must be harvested and stored. Cheese sandwiches (usually sharp cheddar on wheat bread) with home grown tomatoes on top, broiled until the cheese is bubbly and the tomatoes hot and soft, are only a memory now.

The abundance of eggplant and zucchini in this year's garden

caused me to search past recipes for inspiration. My sister-in-law Gail's recipe filled the bill.

Gail's Greek Vegetable Skillet Serves 4

1 lb. ground beef

2 med. onions, thinly sliced

2 med. cloves garlic, minced

1/2 lb. muchrooms, sliced

3 med. tomatoes, cut in wedges

1 small eggplant, cubed or sliced depending on type

2 med. zucchini , cut in 1/4 in. slices

1 med. green pepper, chopped ,

1 T. salt, more or less

1 t. oregano, fresh or dried

1 c. cooked rice

1/4 c. chopped parsley

Brown meat, then onions, garlic, mushrooms and cook until tender. Add tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, green pepper, salt and oregano. Cover and simmer 25 minutes stirring occasionally. Stir in rice. Cover and cook 5-10 minutes more. Sprinkle with parsley.

Delicious!