Super Simple Tomato Sauce

This came about for lunch yesterday. I wasn't feeling too good and needed a big filling meal to settle my stomach. My little sister opened a can of tomatoes last night just for the juice to make herself another caesar....so the next morning I thought well I might as well use them to make a delicious tomato sauce for lunch! It really hit the spot and I felt soooo much better after a bowlful and a little nap........

This is a very versatile sauce. You can use it for lasagna or chicken parmesan or as a base for a delicious tomato soup. If you want you can add mushrooms or peppers to make it more interesting or, if your my husband, ground beef. In his opinion, it's much better with ground beef...... To each their own!

What you need
Half a large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
one stalk of celery, finely chopped
a pinch of chili flakes(optional)
1 tsp each of dried or fresh basil, oregano and thyme
One 28 oz can of whole tomatoes (with or without juice!)*
One small can of tomato paste
A pinch of sugar or 1/2 tsp or so of honey (to balance out the acidic tomatoes)
A splash of red wine vinegar or sherry
Salt and pepper to taste
A bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

SAUTE onion and celery until softened then add garlic and herbs. Saute one minute more then add tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer and using a potato masher, mash up all the tomatoes so you have a uniformly chunky sauce. Add  sugar and red wine vinegar or sherry. Add chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Serve over your favorite noodle! I like this little Fusilli pasta because it holds all the little bits of sauce and tomato really well. Rotini or shell pasta would be good too.
*If you used the juice with your tomatoes then simmer the sauce longer to make it a little thicker.

Zucchini Carbonara

This is a recipe from my all time favorite chef, Jamie Oliver. I love that man. I know my husband doesn't read my blog so I'm not worried about him knowing that. He probably already does though...... Anyway It's not only his rustic, homey cooking style that I love so much but his food philosophy too. He is my inspiration and a wonderful advocate for REAL food. I am trying to slowly cook my way through his new book which is AMAZING. Anyway enough about Jamie.... I adapted this slightly because I had a few other ingredients in the fridge I wanted to use up and I used the last of the speck I had in here too but the sauce is the same. I encourage you to check out your local farmers market to try to find some wonderful green and yellow zucchini's to make it a little more interesting. The sauce is delicious, creamy and super easy as long as you remember to take the pan off the heat for a bit before you add it!

What you need for 2 people
1/2 a pound of penne pasta
3 medium zucchini cut into pieces about the same size as the penne.
*optional* Any other soft veggies that you have in the fridge like tomatoes, mushrooms or peppers
6 or so slices of speck, pancetta or bacon, cut into chunky pieces
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup of whipping cream
A handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
chopped fresh parsley or basil or thyme

FILL a large pot of water on the stove and add a generous amount of salt.
WHILE your waiting for the water to boil slice up your zucchini and other veggies if you are using them.
ADD your pasta to the pot and set for the recommended time.
IN a small bowl combine the egg yolks, cream and half of your handful of Parmesan cheese. Mix together with a fork and season lightly with salt and pepper. Set aside.
HEAT a large deep frying pan or saute pan on medium heat and add a little olive oil. When oil is hot add the speck, pancetta or bacon and fry until it is golden brown and starting to crisp. Add zucchini and other optional veggies plus the chopped fresh herbs and stir to coat the veggies in the lovely bacon flavoured oil. Fry until zucchini start to turn slightly golden brown. Add a couple good pinches of pepper to give it a little kick.

WHEN the pasta is cooked, drain it but reserve a ladleful or so of the pasta water. Quickly toss the drained pasta in the pan with the veggies then REMOVE FROM THE HEAT (or your egg yolks will scramble!) and add the ladleful of pasta water and the creamy sauce. Stir together quickly and add the rest of the Parmesan cheese. Serve right away or the sauce will start to get thick. You can add more pasta water if needed.

Spinach and Artichoke Lasagna with Four Cheeses

This lasagna is so good, even my meat loving husband loved it. So cheesy and delicious and lots of healthy veggies too so you don't have to feel too bad about all that cheese.......I pieced this one together from a few different recipes. I couldn't find one that looked right so I made my own variation. I think it's the subtle taste of nutmeg and dill that make this extra special. As always, feel free to substitute your own veggies (sauteed mushrooms, peppers, sundried tomatoes etc.) Just make sure you have enough sauce to fully cook the noodles.

What you need
9 sheets of oven ready lasagna noodles
one 28 oz. can of tomato sauce
one 14 oz. can of artichoke hearts (not the marinated ones!) Roughly chopped
one 312 g package of fresh spinach (I use the organic one from Sobeys)
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp dill
1/4 cup white wine or vegetable stock
salt and pepper
1 cup of cottage cheese (full fat is best but 1% works too if you strain it first)
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 egg, beaten
Half a large zucchini cut into coins. (or enough sliced for one layer)
3 cups of mozzarella cheese, grated
1.4 cup or so of shaved or grated parmesan
1 tsp or so of dried or fresh basil and fresh parsley

Directions
PREHEAT oven to 350 F.
IN a LARGE saute pan or pot, saute onion in a little bit of oil on medium heat until soft, add garlic and saute another minute. Add wine, chopped artichokes and spinach. Saute until spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally. When mostly all the liquid has evaporated and spinach is wilted down, add nutmeg, dill, and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a med. size bowl and let cool. When cool add cottage cheese, feta and egg. mix well.
SPREAD a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 inch baking dish and top with 3 lasagna noodles. Spread half of the spinach mixture on top of noodles and the slices of zucchini. Top with a thin layer of sauce and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat with another 3 lasagna noodles, the rest of the spinach mixture and the next 1/3 of mozzarella. Add final 3 lasagna noodles, another layer of sauce and the last of the mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle top with the parmesan cheese and some basil and parsley.
COVER dish with tinfoil and bake for 25 minutes. Take of foil and bake an additional 15 minutes.
Serves 8-10 people