Christmas

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Trying New Things

Here are my boys reaching the summit of Mt. Rainier. They’re so bundled up, you’d think it was winter! I wish I could borrow some of that cool air.



I’m making Italian food tonight – pasta bake with sausage and homemade sauce. When my daughter brought us all those veggies on Monday, I have to find ways to use them. There are four zucchinis, all of which are large. She said these were the smaller ones! I’ll give two to the boys, and I’ll make more bread to freeze. I read an article that said you could freeze them, but not whole. So, I’ll try something new and slice them then freeze them. I’ll make zucchini chips with them when they thaw.



I don’t eat peppers, but my husband loves them. I’ll keep one in the fridge for his omelets and salads, and then I’ll slice and freeze the rest. There are three yellow squash, and I’ll use them in a casserole tomorrow.  If I save some pasta and sauce from tonight, I’ll have a yummy dinner. Then there are the tomatoes. I can’t use all of them for just us, so I’m trying something else new.

I’ve never made sauce from fresh tomatoes, and I’m giving it a go. First, I’ll boil some water and have a bowl of ice water next to the stove. After removing the stems, I’ll cut a small X on the bottom.  They get put into the boiling water for thirty seconds, and then I put them in the ice water for five minutes. The peel should come off easily. Then I’ll mash them with a potato masher and put them into the slow cooker. I’ll add the other ingredients and it should be sauce in a few hours. Nothing like a new project to keep me motivated.

On a side note, I slept in the family room last night – or tried to anyway. I didn’t want to aggravate my sore side, and going up the stairs would have done that. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a lot of sleep. I couldn’t get comfortable, and I kept waking up. I gave up at 5:30, and just sat. I’ll take a nap this afternoon, and I’ll go to bed early. I found out the hard way that I don’t do sleep deprivation well. On a better note, though, my side is almost completely healed.

Peace,

Muff  

8 comments:

  1. nice to see the boys, safe and sound!! good luck with your cooking and baking, you are very adventurous!!!

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    1. Deb, my sauce recipe is almost a duplicate of the one you showed on your blog. So, it's not that hard to just substitute real tomatoes. You'll be surprised at how yummy it is!

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  2. That sounds a little ominous--finding out the hard way you don't do sleep deprivation well! I love fresh tomato sauce. The vegetables look great.

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    1. What I meant by being sleep deprived goes back to my mother's final illness. I spent days and nights at her bedside, and with little or no sleep, I became delirious! So, I try to make sure I get enough sleep, now.
      The sauce was yummy.

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  3. Love the mountain hike photo. Glad they made it back OK. As for your cooking, I'm always in awe, as loving to cook is one of those genes that didn't show up for me.

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    1. But your talent for writing far surpasses my culinary attempts!!

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  4. Hi Mff - love all the veggie usages and of course the sauce from scratch with fresh tomatoes will be SO good. I have a little chopper that can also puree so I use that when I start with whole fresh tomatoes. We are not a fan of tomato pieces in iour marinara sauce. Glad your side is healing and I hope you sleep better tonight.
    Love Gail
    peace....

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    1. Gail, I have two food processors -- small and large -- but I wanted the chunkiness along with the liquid. It really was delicious.

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