New Year's Resolutions took a hit this week. Hamburgers one night, hot wings on another (with beer, managing to fall off both wagons in one meal). And Ralph's birthday was Thursday, which required some homemade spaghetti sauce.
Real Tomato Sauce
1 onion, chopped
8 oz. mushrooms, quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsps olive oil
2 28-ounce cans of crushed tomato or tomato puree
bay leaves
oregano
basil
pepper
salt
fresh parsley, chopped
1 lb Italian (Yane) sausage
1. Saute onion, mushrooms and garlic in oil in a large pot.
2. Add the crushed tomatoes, then bay leaves, oregano, basil, pepper and salt. Use fresh herbs if available, otherwise go with the dried. Let simmer for an hour or so.
3. Brown sausage in a skillet. If sausage links, cut into bite-size pieces - or shape into meatballs. Don't have to be cooked through because they will simmer along with the tomatos in a minute.
4. Add sausage and fresh parsley (and some water if getting too thick) to tomato sauce and let cook for another 20 or 30 minutes.
5. Eat.
Also on the birthday menu was carrot cake. I can make a delicious carrot cake, given the time, but time was lacking. Most bakery carrot cakes are not very good - they taste more like Betty Crocker spice cake with some weird specks of neon orange added. So I did some internet sleuthing and found recommendations for Bluebird Bakery. Ah ha! Right around the corner from work - easy to pick up the cake at lunchtime. I called to order the cake and was shocked - $15 for a 6-inch carrot cake and $30 for an 8 inch cake. Imagining something the size of a large muffin, I went ahead and ordered the 6-inch (we're on a purported diet anyway). I am happy to report that the cake was really really good, and it wasn't as tiny as I imagined - it was very pretty, with cream cheese frosting and lots of crushed walnuts as decoration. Bluebird Bakery has a new patron.
Now I'm back on the bandwagon - and plan to make this veggie stew for dinner tomorrow. We'll see how it turns out. It's supposed to have eggplant, yuck, but one of the commentors suggested the substitution of cauliflower and carrots. Sounds like a plan. From allrecipes.com, the description recommended serving over polenta, rice or pasta. It so happens that residing in our refrigerator right now is some polenta, just waiting to be served under.
Mediterranean Vegetable Stew
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup chopped red onion
2 cups coarsely chopped green pepper
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup sliced mushrooms
A cup or 2 of cauliflower & carrots, cut in 1- to 2-inch chunks
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas or white beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 cup coarsely chopped parsley
In a large skillet, heat 1 Tb. oil. Saute onion and pepper until soft, about 10 minutes. Add 1 Tb. oil, garlic, mushrooms, cauliflower and carrots. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until veggies are softened but not mushy, about 15 minutes. Add tomatoes, olives, chickpeas and rosemary. Simmer until heated through, about 10 minutes. Stir in parsley. Sprinkle feta cheese over stew if desired.
Real Tomato Sauce
1 onion, chopped
8 oz. mushrooms, quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsps olive oil
2 28-ounce cans of crushed tomato or tomato puree
bay leaves
oregano
basil
pepper
salt
fresh parsley, chopped
1 lb Italian (Yane) sausage
1. Saute onion, mushrooms and garlic in oil in a large pot.
2. Add the crushed tomatoes, then bay leaves, oregano, basil, pepper and salt. Use fresh herbs if available, otherwise go with the dried. Let simmer for an hour or so.
3. Brown sausage in a skillet. If sausage links, cut into bite-size pieces - or shape into meatballs. Don't have to be cooked through because they will simmer along with the tomatos in a minute.
4. Add sausage and fresh parsley (and some water if getting too thick) to tomato sauce and let cook for another 20 or 30 minutes.
5. Eat.
Also on the birthday menu was carrot cake. I can make a delicious carrot cake, given the time, but time was lacking. Most bakery carrot cakes are not very good - they taste more like Betty Crocker spice cake with some weird specks of neon orange added. So I did some internet sleuthing and found recommendations for Bluebird Bakery. Ah ha! Right around the corner from work - easy to pick up the cake at lunchtime. I called to order the cake and was shocked - $15 for a 6-inch carrot cake and $30 for an 8 inch cake. Imagining something the size of a large muffin, I went ahead and ordered the 6-inch (we're on a purported diet anyway). I am happy to report that the cake was really really good, and it wasn't as tiny as I imagined - it was very pretty, with cream cheese frosting and lots of crushed walnuts as decoration. Bluebird Bakery has a new patron.Now I'm back on the bandwagon - and plan to make this veggie stew for dinner tomorrow. We'll see how it turns out. It's supposed to have eggplant, yuck, but one of the commentors suggested the substitution of cauliflower and carrots. Sounds like a plan. From allrecipes.com, the description recommended serving over polenta, rice or pasta. It so happens that residing in our refrigerator right now is some polenta, just waiting to be served under.
Mediterranean Vegetable Stew
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup chopped red onion
2 cups coarsely chopped green pepper
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup sliced mushrooms
A cup or 2 of cauliflower & carrots, cut in 1- to 2-inch chunks
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas or white beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 cup coarsely chopped parsley
In a large skillet, heat 1 Tb. oil. Saute onion and pepper until soft, about 10 minutes. Add 1 Tb. oil, garlic, mushrooms, cauliflower and carrots. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until veggies are softened but not mushy, about 15 minutes. Add tomatoes, olives, chickpeas and rosemary. Simmer until heated through, about 10 minutes. Stir in parsley. Sprinkle feta cheese over stew if desired.
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