Red Pasta Sauce almost like Mom's.

When it comes to pasta sauce, mom's always the best. It's comforting, familiar and when you're a kid what's funner than slurping a spaghetti and getting sauce all over your face?!
Today being Mother's Day I decided to make a spaghetti sauce the way she used to make it(and still does I'm guessing...it's been a while since last time I had some...hint hint for my next visit;)) Of course mine NEVER tastes the same as hers, even though I use all the same spices...I know she makes it in a pressure cooker, I don't have one of those so I just cook it slowly on the stove. But I doubt that makes a difference...
Anyway, so whenever I make this I try to re-create the sauce I grew up with, it comes pretty close but not quite. I have to admit I sometimes throw in stuff that wasn't part of the "original", like in this case a green chili pepper(partly because the thing was dying in the crisper...it needed to be used!).
Alright, here are the ingredients:

1 big onion
1 branch celeri
1 carrot
2 cloves garlic
1 green chili pepper(optional, if you don't like heat used green bell pepper, or none at all)
1/2 cup mushrooms
Lean ground beef, about enough for two small burger patties(sorry, didin't weigh it..)
1 big can whole or diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
salt, pepper and paprika
1 bay leaf
dried chili flakes(however much you think you can handle...)
1 TBSP sugar
dried herbs: oregano, basil, parsley, thyme, tarragon.



Cut all the veggies really small, or pulse in a food processor. Sautee the carrots, celeri and onions in a little bit of oil, for about 2 minutes, and salt and pepper right away. I like to season every layer of new flavor I throw in, as it comes along...Next add the mushrooms, pepper and garlic, season with paprika. Sautee for another 2-3 minutes...
Add the beef and brown nicely.



This is where a lot of people deglaze with red wine, and I sometimes do so as well, but I don't really keep wine in the house that much, and Mom never used it so this is how it is.
Pour in the can of tomatoes, sauce and season with more salt and pepper, sugar, dried chili flakes and the bay leaf. When it starts bubbling turn down the heat and simmer for AT LEAST one hour, stirring every 20 minutes or so. In the case of a nice spag sauce, the longer it simmers the better.



Add the tomato paste and the dried herbs near the end, about 15-20 minutes before it's done(it's a guessing game, I know, but it's pretty easy to tell...).
Adjust the seasonnings if you need to, cook some spaghetti and enjoy your comforting bowl of pasta!......well tonight I realized I was out of regular spaghetti so I used soba noodles.



And as usual, it wasn't quite like Mom's, a tad too spicy because of the green chili and the load of chili flakes, so I added a bit of milk, slowly while stirring, to tone it down. I know it sounds weird but it worked...cream would do too!

Oh and don't forget the parmesan or top!!

Lentil "Chili" with Quinoa.

I've been kind of on a quinoa kick lately. I love these little grains! On the nutritious point of view it's one of the healthiest, very high in protein and fiber. And it tastes really good, almost nutty and buttery kinda flavor. Plus, it's gluten-free so since I always try to eat at least one gluten-free meal a day quinoa is a good option.
I also always try to eat at least one meat-free meal a day. I used to be totally vegetarian, but I really like chicken and fish so I went back. But I don't HAVE to have meat at every meal. I don't crave red meat all that often. Lentils is one of my main sources of protein. I have at least 3 bags of different types of lentils in the pantry and I used them in a lot of stuff. Soups, stews, stir frys... They're so easy to cook and you don't have to soak them like beans and chick peas. And those little things are so high in fiber also and protein and iron, and they have no fat. Love that!
Ok so this meal was totally done in a freestyle fashion:
(I should mention this is enough for 2 people)

I cooked the quinoa in water with a pinch of salt and a couple sprigs of thyme. To cook quinoa it's 1 part grains 2 parts liquid. Let the liquid boil, throw the quinoa in, turn down the heat and simmer, covered, until cooked. Easy as pie.
Meanwhile, I chopped one medium onion, one green chili pepper, one clove garlic and sauteed them in oil for 5 minutes with salt and pepper. Then I added 1/4 cup red lentils, 1 small can tomato sauce, 1/2 small can tomato juice to start, if you see you need more by all means...(I thought 1/2 can was enough though), cumin, cinnamon, red chili flakes and molasses to cut the acidity of the tomato!!. I then let it simmer until the lentils were cooked. If you see you need more liquid add a bit of water, or more tomato juice(unless, like me, you drank the rest of the can...). Check seasonning and pour over quinoa. Shredded cheese to tame the heat a bit and Oh My was that ever nice!



This would be a really nice pasta sauce too!

for a little info on quinoa:
Quinoa

Easy Chili.

I don't know much about chili. It's never really been part of my growing up and I don't often order it in restaurants. But once in a while I like a nice bowl of spicy chili. Today, I happened to have ground beef in the fridge, ready to be cooked, and I had no idea what to do with it. Spaghetti sauce? Burger? Meat balls? meh...But as I was watching the Food Network, Jamie Oliver's show came on about chili peppers. Mmmm..., there's an idea. But I don't really buy chili peppers either. I usually keep bell peppers in the freezer cause I don't use them often. Ok, I have green peppers, not quite the same but it'll do...So I was going through the ingredient list and procedures it seemed like something I could make. I should mention this was my first ever chili, so for those of you purist out there I'm sorry if I'm breaking any chili rules of forgot something major... ;)
Here's the "recipe", it makes about 2-4 bowls, depending how big the bowl...:

1 onion
1 branch celeri
1 carrot
1 clove garlic
1/2 green pepper
1 1/2 cup diced tomatoes(canned of course...)
Ground beef(i had about the amount for 1 big burger patty, not sure of the weight...)
1/4 cup red lentils
1/2 cup corn niblets.
salt, pepper, chili powder(or flakes...)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 TBSP molasses
2 bay leaves
1 TBSP tomato paste

Chop all the vegetables roughly. Sautee the onion in a little oil(no more than a teaspoon)for about 2 minutes, add the meat, season with salt, pepper, cinnamon and as much chili powder as you care for. Let it cook for about 2-3 minutes, but don't brown the meat. That way it'll remain moist and you won't have to simmer it all day! Add celeri, carrot, galic, pepper and tomatoes. Mix it all well.(here it seemed too thick so I added 1/4 cup of water. if i'd had tomato juice it would've been tomato juice.) Add lentils; this is the thickening agent, as well as extra protein!! Add molasses and bay leaves. Simmer on low-medium, add tomato paste and corn after 30 minutes. By then it should be almost done, I think all together for this one it took about 45-50 minutes.
Of course then all you gotta do is shred some cheese on the side, toast a nice piece of indian flatbread and dig in!