Tomato Sauce

This is a recipe from Biba's Taste of Italy, by Biba Caggiano. It is a delicious, light, and healthy sauce, and has a myriad of uses, from pasta to pizza. I have even used in soups. This is a tradional Italian staple, originally from the Tuscan region, and I find it nice to keep it on hand. If canning isn't your thing, it freezes very well.

Homemade Tomato Sauce
Conserva di Pomodoro

Ingredients
12 lbs. very ripe organic tomatoes, preferably plum tomatoes, cut into large chunks.
2 large organic onions, cut into pieces, coarsely chopped
3 organic carrots, cut into small rounds
3 organic celery stalks, cut into small pieces
1 cup loosely packed organic, flat-leaf italian parsely leaves
1 1/2 tsp. organic sea salt, or more to taste
small bunch of basil, stemmed (20-30 leaves)
1/4 cup organic, extra virgin olive oil

Directions
1. Combine the tomatoes, onions, carrots, celery, parsley, and salt in a large stockpot, over medium heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin falling apart and the other vegetables are soft, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

2. Puree the tomato mixture in batches in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Place a food mill with the disk with the smallest holes over a large bowl and pass the tomato puree through it to remove the seeds and skins. Return the sauce to the pot and season with salt. Cook it at a gentle boil until it has a medium-thick consistency. Stir in the basil and turn off the heat.

Community Gardening

This year, my dear friend organized, spearheaded, and made happen a community garden. Loving gardening as I do, I quickly jumped on board and leased a plot, and then another. The garden quickly filled up, and people rallied around it, as if it was something they had been waiting for. I know I had been!

For $35.00 per plot, per year, you have a 25 by 12 ft. plot, access to water, and a space in which to grow whatever you wish. In return, you must donate 10% of your yield to the area food pantry and agree to garden organically. It is a wonderful concept: it does something positive for an old empty lot, helps the environment, brings the community together, helps feed the hungry, provides healthy sustenance to your family, cuts down on a households food costs, and even provides exercise and fresh air to the gardeners. What's not to love?

Imagine how surprised I was when I found out that ours was the first and only community garden in our county. Ours is considered a wealthy county, however, there are more and more "white collar" poor, and the food pantry is getting more clients every day. All this while there are still many empty lots here and there...every neighborhood has at least one....and so I have to ask myself why aren't more of these little gardens? With so many benefits, it seems to me that if every neighborhood had one, so many problems could be solved, gaps filled, and we would all be healthier for it. Maybe I am naive and it isn't that simple. Or maybe the answer is indeed that simple; staring right at us. Often solutions are just like that.

Of course, community gardening isn't in line with the agricultural giants agenda, which could explain why they are not more actively promoted. Sadly, if agri-biz gets house bill 875 pushed through, community gardens- especially "organic" community gardens, will become a thing of the past. Under the guise of "eliminating food born illness", house bill 875 will make it illegal to grow food organically (i.e without the use of fertilizers and insecticides), this even includes the home gardener who grows food only for his/her own family's consumption with no plans to sell or distribute.

This is something we should all WAKE UP and pay close attention to. Whether or not you are into organic food, it is really all about CHOICE. Do you really want the government taking away that choice? This bill, by the way, is backed by the very entities who will profit from the elimination of organic foods. Monsanto, maker of Round Up and the worlds largest seed distributor, is a major backer. Do you want those who profit most from what you eat deciding what you eat? Do you want to lose the fundamental freedom to decide how to nourish you own body? And if you allow the government to take away your right to choose, what is going to be next? It is a slippery slope, my friend.

It's time to get informed. There is plenty of information out there on this bill. Find out all you can and then let your voice be heard.

my love affair with herbs

Herbs, to me, have always had a sort of magical quality to them. Perhaps they evoke some distant, primal instinct, harking back to a time long ago when ancestors needed these little miracle plants for survival in a harsh world. Maybe I just love the tastes and smells of fresh herbs in my food and teas. For whatever the reason, I have been mesmerized by herbs and all of their many functions most of my adult life.

My love affair with these amazing plants began back in the early 90's when I went to visit a friend who was back in the states after moving to France. We met at her mother's townhouse, a shabby looking older building in a slightly run down part of town. You can imagine my shock when, upon entering, I was faced with a breathtaking, light-filled living room; soaring ceilings, beautiful furnishings, exquisite artwork. Yet, with all of this beauty, the most stunning feature of the room was the wall of floor to ceiling windows which looked out upon one of the loveliest herb gardens I had ever seen. As Lisa took me through this small grotto and pointed out each of the many herbs, I felt myself falling in love. Since that visit, I have had some form of herb garden, whether just a small container garden or a larger kitchen variety, in every place I have lived.

Back in the 90's, my ex husband and I purchased a large, older home in a lovely, well established neighborhood. The home had plenty of space, a beautiful, double sided stone fireplace, and large, arching mulberry trees. The one thing it didn't offer, however, was convenient access from the kitchen to the front or the back yards. The kitchen was tucked away in a corner of the house. As a solution to the dilemma of where to put the herb garden, I ended up having a door installed off the kitchen, opening up to the side yard. This served me quite well for the remaining 5 years in which I resided in that house. I grew everything from the basics: basils, parsleys, oregano, mint, thyme, dill- to strawberries, tomatoes, zucchini.

The house I inhabited when my children were very small was Spanish styled, with the entire house built around a center courtyard. This courtyard was flanked on the east side by the kitchen and breakfast nook, the north side wall was the living room, and the west side wall was the master bedroom. The south wall was the garage, with a narrow opening between the garage wall and the master bedroom wall which allowed for a gated entry to a charming little path which lead to another small garden area, which lead, through yet another gate, to a larger yard. This area was complete with a pool, a lawn, flower beds, and a gazebo. In the courtyard, we had all of the herbs that I needed for cooking, with the mint (as mint will) extending well past its borders and down the little pathway leading to the children's play yard and the other small garden. I didn't mind that wild mint, though, and will never forget the fragrance as I watered during the long, hot Texas summers while the children played amongst daisies that were as tall as they were.

After my divorce I moved into a pretty little townhouse with a nice view of a golf course. This was a time of my life, when, much like an adolescent, I was trying on different persona's, deciding who I was going to be for the rest of my life and exhilarated by the possibilities. During this time, I grew a small container herb garden on my patio, although as I write this I have to wonder: was I growing the herbs, or were they helping to grow me?

We are now in our 4th year in the house my husband and I bought together. A lovely home in which we have unleashed our creativity, passion for beauty, and love for all things do-it-yourself. A smaller house, yet a nice open floor plan, tons of windows, and 12 foot ceilings. Best of all, the kitchen/family room overlook a large backyard complete with a small pool, a lawn, full sun, and extensive garden beds. Since our first year here we have had a nice herb and kitchen garden right outside our door. This year, though, I was inspired to take the next step in my knowledge of herbs and all they can do.

I have always been very interested in herbalism. We are a family that has a passion for health and natural medicine, so it is quite logical that herbalism would call to me. I decided this year that I would begin to study it more seriously, and as I have began to delve into to this, I realize just how much I don't know, which pushes me to learn more. My daughter has taken an interest in it as well, and we have learned some basic remedies. This has also caused us to expand our herb garden by more than 4 times, boasting now well over 40 plants in our backyard alone (we keep plots in a community garden as well). This, in turn, has lead us to expand our culinary knowledge, as we have so many wonderful herbs- what to do with them all!? So, in the end, we have learned some practical remedies that we now use in our household, we have had some delightful new cuisine, we enjoy learning, cooking and eating together- all of this due to the remarkable, miraculous herb!

Pesto, the new Superfood

Recently we have been pesto eating fools. Not the pre-made store bought variety, mind you, but our own, green goodness, organic, made from scratch, wonderful pesto. The recipe is easy:

Jalapeno/Basil Pesto

2 Cups basil leaves, packed.
1/3 Cup organic, unsalted pine nuts (or whatever kind of nuts you have on hand)
1/2 Cup organic, extra virgin olive oil
1/2 Cup organic, freshly grated parmesan/reggiano
3 cloves fresh, organic garlic, minced
2 large organic jalapeno peppers; chopped
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Combine basil leaves and pine nuts in food processor, blend. Add garlic and jalapeno peppers; pulse a bit more until blended.

2. Slowly add olive oil, blend. Add cheese, salt and pepper to taste.

Note: If you are sensitive to spicy foods, simply omit the peppers. We live in Texas, so we like the added pop.

This is an incredibly healthy and versatile dish. First you have the fresh basil, which retains all of its vitamins and nutrients being so fresh and raw. Add to that the power of raw garlic, benefits of olive oil, protein of nuts....it truly is a superfood. And completely raw, meaning it retains all its nutrients.

Not only does it taste amazing, has incredible health benefits, and it easy to make, but this food is very, very versatile. We have used is as a dip for crackers and pita breads, a sauce for pastas, a marinade for veggies and (for the carnivores among us) poultry and seafood. It can be used on pizza dough, combined with breadcrumbs for a filling for mushroom caps, and even spread on toast and topped with sundried tomatoes for a lovely breakfast (I actually had this this morning- it was delicious!).

And, in the end, if you are anything like me, you have grown A LOT of basil this season. This is a delicious and healthy way to make use of all that green goodness!