Entertaining your Family: Tomato Sauce

Now that you have all that freshly grated fantastic Parmigiano Reggiano at your disposal, I figured it would be quite logical of me to post about how you can also give up that pre-bottled pasta sauce and make your own - and it too will cost you less money! Though it may seem quick and convenient to buy one of those jars (and how can you miss them, what are there about 50 varieties now?), I am here to tell you that making your own can be just as easy (and just as quick and convenient). It is also extremely easy to customize the flavours of each sauce to your liking, or to your particular mood, or to whatever ingredients you have on hand! Can it really get much better than that? YES! I'm going to give you 3 of my favorite "go-to" sauces that you can use any day of the week - even tonight - because I can almost guarantee you have all the ingredients in your house right now for at least one of these recipes!

It all starts, of course, with the humble tomato. This pictures is taken from a website that talks about San Marzano tomatoes (as well as the health benefits of tomatoes in general, so be sure to check it out HERE). San Marzano's have a reputation among many cooks (and Italians alike) as being the best tomato for a pasta sauce. And though I do buy them when I happen to be in a speciality shop, I'm not going to tell you that it's a necessity for good sauce (not to mention I can almost guarantee that the stuff in those jars we are trying desperately to steer away from do not contain one single San Marzano tomato). But, you do need tomatoes, of some sort or another. Most common for me is a regular old tin of whole tomatoes. I happen to like a smooth sauce, so I give the contents a quick whirl in the food processor before I use them, but mashing them with a fork or the back of spoon for a more textured sauce also works well. I've also been known to use vine-ripened tomatoes (when in season) for my sauces. If that's what you choose as your base, it's a good idea to blanch them, and then remove the skin. If you don't even want to go to that amount of trouble, but still like the idea of fresh tomatoes, try cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes. They'll pop and release their juices, but the skin won't be as much of an issue. Basically, choose whatever kind of tomatoes are easily available to you and require the least amount of effort!

So, the recipes:

1. Simply Delicious

This is as simple as it gets, but it will blow you away at how tasty it is!

2 tbsp good quality olive oil

2 gloves of garlic, finely sliced

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 can (28oz) tomatoes (with their juice)

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook gently until garlic just begins to brown. Add tomatoes. Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes just until the sauce starts to thicken slightly. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Add-Ins: I use this recipe quite often as a base for a pesto/tomato sauce. After the sauce has simmered, I add in about a cup of pesto. Alternately, you could simply add a cup of fresh basil for fresher flavour.

Serving Suggestions: Of course, this sauce is great on it's own with spaghetti, but we find it's a perfect pairing with tortellini and grilled Italian sausages - in fact, I served it during a dinner party once (Andra if you're out there say all those great things you did that night at dinner!!).

2. Tomato Sauce with White Wine

Browning onions and tomato paste give this sauce a little more depth of flavour. It also shows a recipe using vine-ripened tomatoes, but you can always substitute canned...it won't make a difference!

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
4 gloves garlic
1 can tomato paste
3/4 cup white wine
3 vine ripened tomatoes, blanched, and finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

Heat olive in a medium size saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until onions are just starting to brown. Add tomato paste, and cook for 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scrapping any brown bits. Add tomatoes and half the basil, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Let cook, uncovered, on medium-low heat for 30 minutes, or until mixture starts to thicken. Add remaining basil as well as salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Add-Ins: This is the base I use for my red clam sauce. I live in Calgary, so fresh clams are not always at my fingertips so I use canned quite often. Simply add 1 can of clams (with juice) after tomato sauce has simmered, and cook for an additional 10 minutes (just until clams are heated through). Then add the remaining basil and season with S&P.

Serving Suggestions: When making this into a clam sauce, the logical choice is linguine, but this sauce is pretty rich and delicious on it's own. Serve with penne or any kind of short pasta!

3. Veggie Tomato Sauce

Don't tell the kids, but this sauce is packed with carrots and zucchini! They'll never notice though...trust me!

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, grated

2 large cloves garlic, grated

1 zucchini, grated

1 carrot, grated

1 can (28oz) crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup red wine

1 tsp Italian seasoning

salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in medium sized saucepan. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft. Add zucchini and carrot, and allow to cook a few more minutes. Add tomatoes, wine and seasoning, and allow to simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Add-Ins: Use a mixture of any vegetables you have on hand. Red peppers also work well. The trick is to grate the vegetables (any large-grate cheese grater will do). This will allow them to melt away during the long simmering time and make them virtually unnoticeable!

Serving Suggestions: This is perfect as is with a good mound of spaghetti.

Finally, I have one last suggestion for the perfect pasta dish. One thing I always do before adding the sauce to the pasta is that I dress the hot noodles with a nob of butter, a handful of Parmesan cheese (hello parmigiano reggiano), some freshly cracked black pepper, and some fresh herbs. I find the butter and the cheese give the final dish an extra smooth and silky texture and the fresh herbs stay fresh and don't run the risk of getting over cooked. Then simply pour over your sauce (I happen to like the Italian way - just enough sauce to coat everything really well, but not so that the pasta is swimming), and serve any additional sauce on the side.

One final tip - leftover sauce (from any recipe) will freeze really well. But, if you have just a little bit left that you don't want to waste (and if you have young children), freeze it in ice cube trays for a quick defrost and quick meal for your little one if you are on the go!

I hope this has inspired you to give your own sauce a try! Hey, if you have a sauce that you love please share it with me! I'm always on the look out for new recipes and new ways to use that one can of tomatoes - and avoid buying 8 different jars!

TIP: Grate your own Parmigiano-Reggiano

So, I don't want to shock any of you with this, but the Parmesan you buy in the green plastic container - sandwiched between the dry pasta and the Classico sauce at the grocery store - is not real Parmesan. At least not by my standards. In order to justify itself to me as real it needs to be a) FROM ITALY and b) labeled Parmigiano-Reggiano. Now, from there it can be any brand really - it doesn't have to be the most expensive, or the most sought after because even making sure it fits these two criteria will deliver so much in the flavour department you'll cringe at the plastic container stuff from here on out!

For the last several years, I have been buying my Parmigiano-Reggiano in large chunks, and then grating it myself. Believe it or not, the Costco in my area sells fairly decent Parm at a fairly reasonable price. It will seem expensive and will probably run you at least $25.00 for a good sized wedge, but remember it will last a few months (mine does anyway), and lest we forget that those lovely green plastic containers are usually at least $8.00 at the grocery store, so you are buying a far superior product in bulk (Costco doesn't do anything small) and with minimal labour required at home to grate it.

Now, if you want to, you could seek out a specialty cheese shop, and buy a more expensive brand, with maybe a more distinct flavour, but at the end of the day I do have a grocery budget for my family, so the brand at Costco works for me - and it does fit my criteria (when in doubt make sure the rind of the cheese is stamped with the signature "label" that it has been produced in Italy), not to mention it tastes pretty darn good and makes "real" cheese accessible to everyone!

I personally like to grate my cheese in two "consistencies". I like the finer, powder like grate for sauces, or stirred into soups because it will melt quickly and easily. But, I also prefer a more typical grated cheese to sprinkle over pastas and salads, grilled veggies or pizza.

For the first, you'll need a pretty heavy duty food processor. The first few spins will practically send the whole thing careening to the floor, so I can only imagine the damage this uber-hard cheese would do to one that doesn't have a fairly sturdy base and motor! Simply cut half your wedge of parm into a few large chunks, place in food processor, and whirl until sand like consistency forms.

For the latter, well, let's just say you can skip your arm workout that day. I don't have a grater fine enough on my food processor, so I end up doing this one by hand. It takes a few minutes, and you may break into a sweat, but just keep reminding yourself just how delicious your next batch of spaghetti will be!

And Voila! Several containers of grated, fresh, REAL Parmigiano-Reggiano for your epicurean adventures. I store the smaller containers in the fridge and the larger ones in the freezer, refilling the smaller ones as they run out. Do remember that a little goes a long way, so it really should last you at least a couple of months. Trust me though, the effort (and the slightly elevated cost) will be worth it. You'll never go back to that pre-packaged stuff again (and your belly will certainly thank you!)

BUY: Asparagus

First off - sincere apologies. I haven't kept up with my blog last few weeks. I'm not sure how many people are even out there reading it, but it's still important to me that I post more regularly than I have been. So, that said, I will try to get back on my "every other Wednesday" schedule right away!

While I was off something crazy happened - SRRING! Now, here in Calgary, Spring is relative. Yes, we have the same official start date as the rest of the world, but up until a few days ago we were still shoveling snow on a regular basis. Today though it sits at a comfortable +15 C., so I think I can safely declare that Spring has arrived.


Asparagus is certainly a vegetable that screams this change of season. Sure, it's available all year round now, but it's harvested more often in the Spring to early summer than any other time of the year, making it at it's peak in flavour and freshness. Not to mention it's far less expensive to buy vegetables in season, so now is the time to stock up on some asparagus.


Browsing the internet for some additional info, I also learned that asparagus is actually extremely high if folacin (also knows as folic acid) - 60% of our recommended daily allowance in fact! This is extremely useful information for women especially - folacin is key in preventing neural tube defects in babies during pregnancy. Known mostly to be found in green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and spinach, I actually had no idea there was such a large amount in asparagus! Of course, it is widely known that folacin needs to be consumed well before the pregnancy even occurs to have an adequate supply in the system, so it is recommended that all women in "childbearing age" consume at least 0.4mg daily. (This is also a super important vitamin for people who are not "women of childbearing age" as folic acid deficiency can lead to fatigue, poor growth and intestinal problems).


Luckily, asparagus is delicious, and we eat it quite frequently. The most common method to prepare it at our house is roasting. Simply drizzle washed and trimmed asparagus spears (the bottom of an asparagus spear is very woody - simply break off the bottom at it's "natural" point. You can also cut the bottoms, or even grate the bottom with a vegetable peeler if you prefer) with a glug or two of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss on a sheet pan and roast in 450 - 500 degree oven for 5 - 8 minutes (depending on the thickness of your spears). Shake the pan once during roasting to ensure all sides are well caramelized.



Another favorite in our family is asparagus pasta. Wash, trim, and cut a couple handfuls of asparagus into bite size pieces. On very low heat, cook a tablespoons or so of garlic with a teaspoon or so of hot pepper flakes along with 3 - 4 tablespoons of olive oil and a tablespoon or so of butter (like my measurements? This is a very forgiving recipe so you can cook to your own taste). Add asparagus and gently cook until spears are tender-crisp. Toss with enough pasta for two, a handful of good quality Parmesan cheese and some freshly ground pepper. This makes an amazing side dish, or simply dinner all on it's own (has been for me on many an occasion!).


So, run to the grocery store, buy some asparagus, make yourself a tasty meal, and procreate healthy children. Sounds good to me!

Pictures and nutritional information courtesy of http://www.asparagus.org/

Entertaining Your Family: Decorated Sugar Cookies

I know...Valentine's Day is over, but seeing as we are still enjoying the baking I figured I could still post about it! I had every intention of making these the days leading up to Valentine's Day, but a nasty bug got a grip of the majority of the people who live here (dog included), so instead of consuming this treat on Valentine's Day they were baked that day, iced the next day, and I've been eating them with my afternoon tea all week.

All that aside, it's more the concept of the cookie that I'm after in this post - not the shape. Sugar cookies are actually a fantastic way to get the whole family involved in baking (maybe not your husband - mine iced one then went back to painting a wall in the house somewhere...so I guess it kinda counts as decorating). But if you have kids they will get a kick out of getting creative with the icing. My daughter is only 19 months old so she didn't really help either, but she was a very important part of my test kitchen...several cookies had to be consumed (both with and without icing for comparison purposes) in order to get the official thumbs up!

The great part about sugar cookies is that the ingredients are most likely already in your house. I don't consider myself a real baker (I'm more into cooking and meal planning) and I even have these ingredients at the ready. I also like that they can be cut out into whatever shape suits the occasion - or your mood really. Go ahead and get creative. I'm planning a baby shower in a couple of weeks and I'm going to make another batch in the shape of buggies, rattles, bottles, and whatever else I can find. If you can't find cookie cutters, you can always print a shape onto paper, cut it out, then use it on the dough and trace the shape out with a knife (requires a tad more patience then I have, but certainly doable).

As far as icing goes, this is a variation of a classic royal icing. By reducing the amount of icing sugar, the icing becomes thinner and more easily spreadable. Also, if cookies are iced with two colours at the same time (rather than waiting for one colour to dry), the new colour will sort of seep into the base colour giving the cookie a smooth finish. My mom has been decorating her sugar cookies this way for years. The icing will still dry to a hard finish, but it won't be the consistency of cement, and it will make your cookies look quite elegant.

Below are the recipes, and don't forget to get creative! It's a fun way to celebrate everyday accomplishments (slip a heart cookie into your kids lunch), or holidays (Clover Leaf cookie anyone?). Not to mention there is something to be said for easy, inexpensive ways to get your kids into the kitchen and interested in cooking, and they'll be so proud of their efforts I urge you to hide a few right way so you can indulge with an afternoon tea!

Sugar Cookies

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

In large bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy; slowly beat in sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. In separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt; gradually stir into butter mixture.

Divide dough in half; flatten slightly. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 1 hour or for up to 24 hours.

On lightly floured surface, roll out each half into 1/4" (5mm) thickness. Cut into shapes using cookie cutters. Place 1" apart on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375 degrees until light golden on bottoms and edges, about 8 - 10 minutes. Let cool on pans for 1 minute, transfer to racks and let cool completely. Makes about 36 cookies (depending on size of shapes).

"Spreadable" Royal Icing

2 cups icing sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

2 egg whites

1/2 tsp almond extract (or whatever flavour you desire...I actually used vanilla)

food colouring

Combine all ingredients (except food colouring). Mix with electric mixer until smooth. Divide icing, and mix with desired colours. Icing will harden within about 45 minutes of being spread on cookies.

Tip: Grate Garlic and Store it in the Freezer!

This is one of the best tips I've come across so far, and I can't even take credit for it! My good friend Drew, who is not only a fabulous cook, but runs a successful cooking school called "Curry Cuisine", told me about this when she was conducting a class for me and my friends a few weeks back. She had brought with her some garlic and ginger that she had pre-grated to use in our recipes. I mentioned I hate buying that pre-grated stuff in the grocery stores, but when I do it myself, it always seems to go bad before I use it all! She then told me when she does a large batch, she will often freeze it after she grates instead of storing it in the fridge. This way, she doesn't have to worry about it going bad if it's not all used right away. Brilliant! This was something I never even thought of, and all of sudden I was really eager to try it! So I did.

When at the grocery next I found a large bag of garlic heads - about 25 or so for a very reasonable price. The most time consuming part of this process was certainly peeling each glove, but I did find I got into a bit of a grove. Plus, though I'm not going to go into the exact science of peeling garlic as everyone has their own "system", crushing the cloves slightly with the back of a large chef's knife did help to dislodge the skins, and the fact I bruised the cloves was a non-issue as they where going right into the processor anyway. Once I was done I was able to whiz all my efforts into one large batch of grated garlic. From there, onto the cookie sheet in mounds about the size of one heaping teaspoon (I figure about 2 gloves worth), and into the freezer for a quick freeze before loading into resealable plastic bags.

And voila! Now, when I need a couple of gloves of garlic, there they are, in the freezer, ready to be popped into sauces or soups, stir-frys or curries. I love it. I did the exact same thing the next day with ginger which was a little less time consuming, thanks to the fact that ginger doesn't come in cloves! Yes, getting them in the freezer takes a little time, but it's worth it in my opinion. It's cheaper than buying that pre-grated stuff in the grocery stores (not to mention what do they put in it to make it last so long?), yet you still get the convenience of grated garlic right at your fingertips - especially on those weeknights when even peeling 2 or 3 gloves of garlic seems too daunting and not worth the effort!

BUY: Beets

Ok, so this is about as honest as it gets because guess what? I hate beets. Or, at least, I thought I did. I just never knew what to do with them, and the only time I've ever been served beets they've been pickled. I definitely don't like pickled beets, and I think that just turned me off of beets all together. Until now.

Thanks to my sister and her glorious re-introduction of beets. For the first time in my life I was served beets and they weren't pickled. And, they were absolutely delicious. I raved about them for days, and when we returned from Christmas vacation one of the first items on my grocery lists were beets.

The interesting thing I learned from sister (who actually learned it from Jamie Oliver) is that beets can be served raw. And that's just how they were presented to me. In a wonderful salad that was crisp, refreshing, and oh so tasty.

Beets are another one of those super foods too! One website I read (I'm now on a "learn all I can about beets kick") says that they've been known to prevent cancer and heart disease, helps rid your body of unhealthily toxins, metals and hormones, and promotes a healthy liver, colon and stomach. Wow. Though beets do come in variety of fun colours, the red ones provide the most health benefits and since they are also the most readily available, those are the ones to buy!

So, because I think you should all go out and buy a few beets, I'm including the recipe for the raw beet salad. My sister found the recipe in Jamie Oliver's new cookbook, Cook with Jamie. I've changed it around a little and added a few personal touches, but it's generally the same idea. Later this week, I'm going to roast some beets and see if my love affair with my new found favorite veggie continues!

Raw Beet Salad with Apples and Goat Cheese

2 beets, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 Granny Smith apple, cut into matchsticks

1/2 cup pecans, toasted

1/2 crumbled goat cheese

spinach leaves for garnish

Dressing

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 clove garlic, grated

salt and pepper

In large bowl, combine beets and apples. Toss with dressing. Chill for about 15 minutes. On 6 salad plates, lay a few spinach leaves to create a base for the salad. Pile 1/6 of the beet and apple mixture over each plate of spinach. Sprinkle with goat cheese and toasted pecans. Makes 6 servings.

Note: Beets are messy. Use kitchen gloves if you have them!

Picture taken from: About.com

TIP: Stash Cranberries in your Freezer

This is the time of year when cellophane bags of cranberries are piled high in supermarkets all over North America. This is because most people (and I'm not most people in this case) cannot have a bite of turkey without a heaping spoonful of cranberry sauce on the side. Or, if you are like my dad, your boxing day turkey sandwich would not be complete without a thin film of cranberry sauce opposite the mayo.

Now I say I'm not most people here because I don't much care for cranberry sauce. Not sure why. I probably need to "try it again for the first time" because it's been so long since I've had it, and it's just natural for me to pass it by during holiday meals. But, that doesn't mean I don't stock up on bags of cranberries during turkey season. They have more uses than cranberry sauce - and better ones too in my opinion!

First off, cranberries freeze very well. Just toss the bag into the freezer and that's that. Later, they can be used for Cranberry Banana Muffins, Cranberry Scones, or halve them and toss a few into pancake batter for a tart contrast when the syrup is drizzled over top.

Don't like to bake? That's Ok. Cranberries make festive decorations. String frozen cranberries through a needle to make an outdoor wreath, or fill a vase with cranberries and add greenery for a festive holiday table. It's an inexpensive way to add a little more decor to your home during the season. Later in the year, add frozen cranberries to a large vase or bowl with water and floating candles for a fun centerpiece any time of year.

So, though cranberry sauce may be the most popular use for this seasonal fruit, be sure to pop a few extra bags in your freezer for later in the year - and if, 6 months down the road, you want to make cranberry sauce with them - that's Ok too!

Entertaining Your Family: Split Pea Soup

Well, it's officially winter which, in our house, means it's officially soup season. I love soup, and I love to use the crockpot for my soups. Just assemble all the ingredients in the morning, let it simmer away for few hours, then return home to a warm and satisfying meal that will stick to your ribs and warm you from the inside out!

One of my favourite winter soups is Split Pea and Ham. I use a recipe my mom has been using for years (with a few of my own adjustments). The key to this fantastic meal though is the ham. It needs to be a "real" ham, and by "real" I mean not a pressed processed ham, but a ham hock or shank that has good flavour and that will add complexity to this dish.

Ham's are easy to find around the holidays. They are often huge though, so my trick? I buy a large ham shank and cut it up into pieces. I freeze what I don't use in the first batch of soup for a soup later in the winter (when the holidays are over and they are less readily available). It does mean that there will only be one bone piece (and only one soup with that much more flavour) but surprisingly, the soup is just as tasty with a boneless piece of ham. This time, I bought an 8lb ham shank and cut it up into 3 pieces, the first of which landed in my crockpot for a fantastic and hardy mid-week meal. I prefer to buy hams that aren't smoked with any additional flavouring though (i.e. maple), as I enjoy the simplicity of this recipe.

Split Pea Soup

2 cups split peas, well washed
2 1/2 pounds ham hock
8 cups water
1 onion
2 whole cloves
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon peppercorns

1. Peel onion, and stick with the two cloves. Combine onion and all other ingredients in crockpot. Cover and set to cook for 8 hours.
2. With one hour remaining in the cooking time, remove ham bone. Remove bay leaf and cloves from onion, discard. Puree soup with an emulsion blender, or in batches with a blender. Cut off meat from the bone, and dice. Return to crockpot with pureed soup. Allow to cook for the remaining hour, serve.

This soup would probably serve 6 to 8 as a first course and 4 healthy portions as a main. I usually serve it with a nice loaf of crunchy garlic bread, but really all it needs is a spoon!