Pasta Perfect

Remember the great pasta sauce I made a big batch of last week? (See blog dated September 8 for recipe). Well tonight’s unexpected drizzly weather proved the perfect opportunity to indulge in some comfort food a.k.a. pasta - swirled and tossed in a delicious marinara sauce (that's when having frozen supplies of yummy staples comes in handy). And even better when topped with a good grating of parmesano reggiano cheese and a splash of fine pinot noir to chase it all down. Life is good. Real good. What does a little rain matter anyway when this dish will chase all your blues away.

Pasta Maker

I LOVE pasta. Of course the best part about the pasta is the sauce! Over the weekend I made a quadruple batch of pasta sauce in order to have it in the freezer and at the ready for a quick meal. I like to freeze the pasta in 2 cup increments because it seems to be the right amount to amply sauce 1/2 a pound of pasta for 2 servings. Also, I like to freeze the sauce in Ziploc bags. When I ladle the 2 cups into the bag, I squeeze out the air and lie it flat so it's about 1/8-inch thick so it takes no time at all to defrost - for those times when I forget to leave it out. Or it can melt right out of the bag into a saute pan. Plus it takes up far less space in the freezer.

Marinara Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
2-28 oz. cans whole tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsely
1 teaspoon sugar (if needed)


Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Use a potato masher to break up tomatoes. Reduce heat, simmer 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in basil and parsley, and cook 1 minute. Taste and add sugar, if needed.

Simply Pasta

This morning Michael asked me what's for dinner and then quickly answered his own question by saying "spaghetti?". I was thinking more along the lines of a bright, colourful plate with lots of crunchy vegetables so told him to "leave it with me". This time he looked directly into my eyes and said, "spaghetti?" He then went in for the kill and said he'd make it. How can one argue? When Michael makes spaghetti you know what sauce he's going to make: the Quick Tomato sauce from the cookbook "Italian Easy - Recipes from The London River Cafe" by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers. It's the only recipe he knows by heart and goes like this:

Peel and slice 3 cloves of garlic. Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and fry the garlic until brown (but make sure it doesn't burn!). Add a 28-ounce can of tomatoes (we LOVE to use San Marzano tomatoes - but any can of whole, diced, or crushed tomatoes are fine). Season with some salt and pepper (important not to be too heavy handed with the salt here as this mixture does cook down/thicken so any salt added will intensify in this process - you'll get another chance to season with salt, if needed, when the sauce is finished). Cook over a high heat for 15 minutes and stir to prevent tomatoes from sticking. If using whole canned tomatoes, break them up as they cook (a potato masher is a great tool for this job -- and you thought it was only good for mashing potatoes!). Add some fresh torn basil leaves during the last minute of cooking (you can easily omit this if you don't have any basil on hand, or add 1 teaspoon of dried basil after you add the tomatoes to the pan). Add some extra olive oil and season with salt and pepper (if needed). This recipe generously coats 2-3 servings of pasta. Don't forget to serve with a handful of grated parmesano reggiano cheese over top.