Tag Archives: red sauce

Gluten Free: Day 5

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5

I was hoping to be reporting some of the positive effects of going gluten-free by now, but to be honest, I got nothing. I was lured in with tales of nice skin, happy digestion, increased energy, and better mood. Maybe my body is playing some sort of cruel trick on me, but I’m having a bit of an opposite reaction. My skin is at it’s all time worst, and, without going into detail….digestion is not happy, I am VERY tired, and slightly more up and down than usual.

Ever the optimist (if those who know me well could please resist from falling on the ground laughing right now that would be great, thanks), I am just going to chalk it up to poor choices/adjustment period.

Scrambled Eggs

 

For lunch some quick and simple scrambled eggs+egg white, arugula and brie.

For dinner I decided to try the “spaghetti squash as stand in for pasta” trick that I see recommended in magazines all the time. I’m a pretty big fan of most squash, but I hadn’t given spaghetti squash a try since I was a kid.

I made up a small batch of sauce and roasted the squash in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Top with fresh parmesan, and tada! Looks just like spaghetti.

Spaghetti Squash Pasta

 

 

Verdict? Tasty, but it’s not fooling anyone. I think I would prefer to eat it on it’s own, maybe with some butter and S&P on top. There really is no substitute for pasta….

Yes, I am aware that this is becoming a photo-journal of everything I eat… I am OK with this.

I also gave the bread another shot today. I think it’s safe to say I owe my oven an apology. The brick was definitely not her fault…
This time it rose a little bit more, and was slightly more “bread-ish”, but still not quite what I was hoping for.

I’ll post the recipe anyway, hopefully someone can give me some tips on what I’m doing wrong!

Red Sauce

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I LOVE a good red sauce. Tomatoes. Garlic. Oregano. Associations with delicious, wonderful pasta. Mmmmm

I learned how to make red sauce using my Grandmother’s canned tomatoes. It was very simple. Tomatoes + tomato soup + onions + garlic + spices + ground beef. Yum.

As I got older, my tastes changed, and I started developing my own sauce.

I would love to be able to use my Grandmother’s tomatoes every time, but they are in short supply, so I decided to FINALLY learn how to make a sauce completely from scratch.

As I tend to say, if I  can do it, so can you!

I often skip measurements when I am cooking (leave that to the baking), it usually means I never make exactly the same thing twice, but I like to have the freedom to taste and re-season as my taste-buds of the day deem necessary.
My apologies for not having specific quantities!

Red Sauce

Tasty Ingredients

Step 1. Gather ingredients. My basic list includes tomatoes, celery, carrots, onion, garlic, red pepper, olive oil, tomato paste, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and bay leaves. I also often add broccoli to my sauces because I can’t taste it, and the more green veggies I can sneak into my food, the better I feel. Zucchini and mushrooms are also delicious additions. White wine also adds a nice flavour.

 

 

Fresh tomatoes will give you a slightly orange sauce. If you want that bright red colour use canned.

2. On low heat sauté onions, carrots, and celery in olive oil. When they are almost cooked add garlic. Add tomatoes (many people say to peel and seed them, I don’t because I like peel and seeds. You might not), red peppers, and seasoning. Cover and simmer at least 20 minutes.

 

3. You can blend the sauce to make it more uniform if you like, but I like to keep the chunks. I do add tomato paste to thicken it a little though. I also tend to taste and re-season if needed at this point.

 

Sauce

4. At this point you have a basic red sauce. You can serve it like this over pasta if you like (although I think it is much better if it simmers for much longer, like the entire afternoon, or even better, if it sits in the fridge overnight).

You can also jazz it up a bit. I love to add ground beef or pork, spicy Italian sausage, red pepper flakes, ground round. There are pretty much unlimited possibilities!