Friday, 1 June 2012
c="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/bowl-of-home-made-tomato-sa.jpg" alt="" title="bowl-of-home-made-tomato-sa" width="640" height="426" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-8131">Hello and welcome to my weekly food related post! Today I thought I'd show you the homemade tomato sauce that Nick makes regularly and also how he turned some of it into a delectable sauce for pasta.We eat a lot of tomato sauce in this house, so some time ago Nick began making it from scratch, in large batches that we divide up and freeze. Part of our reason for doing so is our attempt to use fewer canned goods and more fresh produce. But another reason was that we have been finding numerous sources for fresh tomatoes being sold at rock-bottom prices because they are more ripe than the average consumer would purchase. We easily find trays the size of those pictured put out for quick sale at $.99 a tray. Comparatively, a can of tomatoes costs about $1.50 per can. We can get the equivalent of several cans worth for 2 dollars worth of fresh tomatoes. So this notion of making our own sauce satisfies both our thrifty and healthy eating desires. Of course, if you have an abundance of fresh tomatoes from your garden, all the better!The sauce is simple to make, and since we freeze it, no sterilizing jars and worrying about proper canning techniques are required. We make the sauce about once a month and then use it in pasta dishes, for pizza sauce and in chili, throughout the month. Having it partially seasoned with onions, garlic and peppers allows for really quick meal preparation when we're in a hurry too.First I will show you the steps involved in making the sauce. Then I'll get to the good part ... directions for how to turn this sauce into "Chevre and Olive Pasta Sauce", which is to die for!
To make homemade tomato sauce: Chop a whole lot of fresh tomatoes -- don't worry about pealing them, unless you really want to. If you do want to peel them, cut a shallow slit in each one and then drop into boiling water for about 30 seconds. Run under cold water and the peels should comr right off -- some onion, peppers and garlic, quantities dependent on your personal preference.Sauté the onion, peppers and garlic in olive oil. Then add chopped tomatoes and their juices. Add a bit of salt (around 1 teaspoon).Cook at a low simmer for at least an hour, until your sauce has reached your desired thickness. Taste and add more salt if desired. Stir in a bit at a time and keep tasting, so you don't end up over-salting. You want it to remain slightly sweet because you can always add more salt or salty ingredients when you prepare your final dish.We cook ours until it is reduced by a third in volume. It is still pretty liquidy, but will thicken when it cools. Also, when a thicker, more dry, sauce to make pizza is needed, we further reduce it.If you prefer a smoother sauce you can use an immersion blender, food processor or blender at this point.Let your sauce cool completely and divide into serving sizes containers, 1 to 2 cups per. Freeze and then pull it out when you need it. Note that there is some seasoning in the sauce but when you use it you will add more based on what you're making with it.
Thursday, 31 May 2012
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
It's a very gloomy day outside today, perfect for staying in and going over the recent photos I've taken of Nick, Boycat Eddie and me getting our outside space spruced up for summer living! The past several days have been a combination of work and relaxation, though I have to admit, Nick was doing more of the work and Ed and I were doing the lion's share of relaxing.
Monday, 28 May 2012
I walk through China Town fairly frequently so I'm used to the sights sounds and smells that fill your senses, while walking around the main part around the intersection of Spadina and Dundas Avenues. However when Nick and I were there on Friday we saw something neither of us could ever recall having seen in the city before.
Ahead of us was group of (what we assume were) Mennonites. It appeared to be a school trip as the youths were all about the same age, and they were accompanied by a couple of older people who could have been their teachers. They likely came from
St Jacobs, a community of old order Mennonites, located about a 2 1/2 hour drive away from Toronto.
Some of the photos I took of the street included them however, as tempted as I am because they were great shots, I am refraining from including those due to my newly discovered understanding that it is against their faith to have their picture taken.
Sunday, 27 May 2012
Eddie has his favourite sunbeam in which he loves to bask. We never find him sleeping in it though, as it's in the middle of our walkway to the kitchen so he stays alert in this busy spot. I actually think this is why he has chosen it as a favourite place ... because it's in the middle of the household action. Ed is a real family man. In the 9 years we have had him I can honestly say that he has never hidden himself from our view like many cats do. He is always easily found, usually in the vicinity of his true-love, Nick. And when Nick is not at home I can be sure that our furry friend is astutely aware of his absence and awaiting his return.
Sometimes his unabashed adoration of Nick makes me sad and I tell Ed that I'm going to go out and find myself a cat who will love me. I am kidding when I say this because I know he loves me too, but just in a different way.
