What’d You Do Last Weekend?
Want to try a gluten-free dessert that tastes anything but? How about hanging your lip on a Nanaimo bar? The recipe's from our neighbors up north, but the gluten-free graham crackers are a creation of Celiac Teen's Lauren. Unbelievable.
Fresh Tomato Sauce Sicilian
Last year when we had plenty of tomatoes, Todd made and froze homemade tomato sauce - and it turned out to be very handy whenever we wanted a quick pasta meal (especially when we had homemade Italian sausage!). I had a little extra time on Saturday, so I pulled down the Frugal Gourmet's recipe for a basic tomato sauce and made 5 quarts and froze it.
We didn't have enough tomatoes for a full batch, so I went to the U-District Farmer's Market and picked up a few pounds of overripe tomatoes. Turned out a good move. They were juicy and fat, and complimented the canned Italian plum tomatoes perfectly (it's called for in the recipe!). I think the thing that really enriches the sauce is the addition of butter at the end, but I also got a food mill for the sauce, and using it resulted in smooth sauce with no skins or seeds. I'm looking forward to the sausage making so we can have a big bowl of linguine!
Fresh Tomato Sauce Sicilian
1/4 c olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
9 c cored and chopped very fresh tomatoes
4 28-oz cans whole tomatoes, crushed with juice (use the best you can buy, Italian preferably)
1/4 c chopped parsley
1/2 c dry white wine
1 c chicken stock
1 tsp dried marjoram (I use fresh, and use a lot more than 2tsp. Probably closer to 2T)
1 tsp dried rosemary (same as marjoram. Use fresh, use more than called for)
6 T butter
Salt and pepper to taste
- Heat an 8 to 10 quart heavy bottom pot.
- Add the oil, garlic, and onion. Saute until the onion is clear.
- Add the remaining ingredients except the butter, salt & pepper.
- Bring to a simmer and gently cook, uncovered, for 4 hours, stirring often.
- Stir in butter, salt & pepper to taste.
Makes 5 quarts.
And a funny side note, did you know I ran into Jeff Smith (Mr. Frugal himself) at Pike Place Market several years back? Yeah, I think it was him. Wheelchair-bound and nearly running over folks with his new wheels. Kind of a jerk. I guess it was after his 'trouble.'
