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.

cooking for vegetarians and non vegetarians

What a great and busy weekend we had to cap off the end of summer! A friend, who has been touring the country on his motorcycle, came to stay with us for 2 nights, which added to the sense of celebration and fun. The weekend also included parties, a work day at the community garden, yoga, shopping, dining out, a couple of large, fun meals at home, touring downtown, and a movie! Needless, to say, by Sunday night, we were tired, but a good tired.

People often seem perplexed at how one can be a vegetarian and cook for non vegetarians, and vise verse. A question I frequently hear when we are socializing is, "But what will you eat?" I understand that the idea of cooking meals for both vegetarians and non-veggies seems daunting, but having done just that for the last 20 years, I can guarantee that it is much easier than in sounds.

The best way to approach it is to base a meal around a central, non animal food, such as rice, beans, pasta, a bread type food, and the like. For example, last night my family came over to welcome back my son who is home from college for a few weeks. I wanted to do something simple, healthy, and delicious that everyone would enjoy, but would not require much effort on my part. I consulted with one of my "partners in crime" (my mother), and we decided to do pizzas.

I made the dough in advance (see Pizza Dough recipe), allowing it ample time to rise, fall, and rise again. In this case, the pizza dough would serve as the central base, or core, of the meal. By evening time, all that needed to be done was to roll out the dough, add toppings, and bake. We made two cheese pizzas and one with sundried tomatoes (see sundried tomato recipe), artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, and balsamic vinaigrette drizzled over the top. Had we wanted to, we could have easily added chicken, beef, or pork to one of the pizzas, accommodating the meat eaters among us.

Another example from this weekend was Sunday Brunch. In this case, the core of the meal was an egg dish called migas (obviously, this would not work for vegans). Along with the migas, off to the side I served tortillas, veggie sausage, pork sausage, organic hash browns, sliced organic fruit, salsa, sliced avocados, and pico de gallo (see recipe). The migas as the base allowed everyone to tailor their meal to suite their own tastes.

Sometimes I will take a pasta dish and use grilled sliced chicken or other animal food, to top the pasta for the non vegetarians. This is so easy, and no one thinks twice about it. The trick is to change thinking from building the meal around the meat, poultry, or seafood, to building the meal around a non meat dish. It is simple when you think of it in those terms.

pico de gallo

Being Southerners, we love Mexican food. A wonderfully fresh and healthy staple of Mexican cooking is Pico de Gallo, an uncooked tomato sauce. It is traditionally used for dipping tortillas and tortilla chips, as a topping for enchiladas, chalupas, tacos, burritos, and other Mexican dishes, as well as a filler for wraps, tacos, burritos and the like. It can also be used as a delicious garnish to compliment most Mexican dishes. We like to keep fresh Pico de Gallo on hand as it is such a wonderful addition to so many meals, and also makes a great, healthy snack.

Pico De gallo:

Ingredients:

1 lb. large, ripe, organic tomatoes, chopped
2 fresh, large, organic jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 large organic onion, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup fresh, organic cilantro, chopped

Combine 1st 3 ingredients in a bowl; add cilantro and salt and pepper to taste. Makes about 2 cups. Refrigerate.

pizza dough

Ingredients:

2 tsp dry active yeast
2 3/4 cup lukewarm, filtered water
2 TBSP organic, raw sugar
1/2 tsp organic sea salt
2 TBSP organic olive oil
8 cups organic, all purpose, unbleached white flour

Instructions:

preheat oven to 450

1. Disolve yeast, sugar, and salt in the lukewarm water and set aside.
2. Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl and pour into yeast mixture.
3. Mix and knead for about 15 minutes, until smooth.
4. Place dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a clean cloth, and place in a warm place (or a shut off warmed oven), until dough has doubled in size. About 1 hour.
5. Remove, punch down, and return to bowl, allowing dough to re-double.
6. Remove from bowl and separate into 3 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough, one at a time, and place on an oiled baking sheet, pizza pan, or stone. Stretch dough until pan is covered, making a small edge.
7. Spread pizza topping over dough and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until bottom is nice and brown.

*The extra dough can be refridgerated and saves very nicely. We like to experiment with different pizza toppings. A favorite right now is brushing a light coat of olive oil on top of the dough, drizzeling with balsamic vinegrette, adding a very light dusting of freshly grated, organic parmesan cheese, and topping with sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, carmelized onions, and basil. We vary this with using a homemade pesto as a sauce.
My son's love the traditional cheese pizza, which we make healthier by using homemade tomato sauce and topping with organic, freshly grated parmesan and mozzerella. You would not believe the difference the quality of cheese makes, so if you DO eat dairy, take the time to use the good stuff.*

sun dried tomatoes

I make my own sundried tomatoes at home in the oven (yes, a bit of an oxymoron, I know). They are so easy, far less expensive, taste great, are less processed, and I am assured they are organic. It is also a great way to use up all those tomatoes you have grown all summer, if you garden as I do. My family LOVES sundried tomatoes, and we use them in many dishes; from pasta sauces to pizza toppings. I will even put them on top of homemade bread coated with homemade pesto for a lovely breakfast or snack (this is soooo good it is ridiculous!). If you have never made your own sundried tomatoes, here is how I do mine....

Sundried Tomatoes:

Ingredients:

Organic tomatoes- I prefer Roma, but any type will do. About 10-20, depending on how many you want.

Organic balsamic vinaigrette

Organic olive oil

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 250
2. Cut tomatoes into halves, lengthwise.
3. Place on oiled baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette, and bake.
4. Bake for 3- 4 hours.