Homemade Pasta Sauce

As summer rages in warmth and sunshine fresher fruits and vegetables also come and go so fast at the local farmer's market. With this season, let's also progress with new and rich vegetables and fruits to pick from. Here's another tip from Your Smart Kitchen Newsletter on how to make something homemade, this time they're sharing how to make pasta sauce with spring ingredients: 

Ingredients

• 9 medium size beefsteak tomatoes
• 1 (6 ounce) can Italian-style tomato paste
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 7 cups water
• 1/2 cup red wine (merlot)
• 3 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 2 tbsp dried basil
• Fresh oregano
• 1 tsp white sugar
• Pinch crushed red pepper

Preparation

Use a food mill to naturally process the tomatoes, milling and pureeing them. Chop the onion and garlic and saute in olive oil for 3-5 minutes in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, water, Italian seasoning, basil, oregano, sugar, wine, and crushed red pepper. Adjust heat to a simmer and let be for 3-5 hours, stirring on occasion. Enjoyed best over al dente pasta and a side of garlic bread.


Thanks Nick!

How Can I Roast Thick Steaks in my Grill Pan

Like many of us, I too enjoy giving it a try cooking a new fish steak recipe that I come across. Most of my friends would tell me that perhaps cooking fish steak should already be easy for me by now. Yes it is - but not with a thick-cut of a fish steak! It is why I am always up for trying something new and here's what I learned.

Pan-roasting!

Trust me, the pan roasting method renders a moist and more flavorful fish when it comes to thick steaks, I did not stop until I learned the steps in getting that perfectly-seared thick steak. Like the usual way I prepare fish steaks, I first thawed the steaks and sprinkle with my own-made rub coating all sides of the fish. Take note to preheat your oven at this point to make things smooth..... oh by the way, preheat it to 400° F.

Pour any vegetable oil into a skillet, heat the oil and when it starts to "smoke" a bit, add the fish steaks. Give room to each steak so they individually cook without sticking to each other. ONE IMPORTANT THING: Crowding the fillets will result to steaming and not searing... so take note.

Give around 3 minutes before flipping over each of the steaks then sear for 3 more minutes. Carefully release the fish steaks from the pan and place skillet/pan into the oven and bake until your preferred doneness.

There goes our pan-roasted fish steaks for dinner.

Dutch Oven Cooking Both Inside and Out

We know that many Dutch oven recipes are all about rich meats and sweet foods, and no matter how we love them, we should realize that we can't go on like that all the time. With all the unhealthy ready made foods and modern easy ways of packaged food, we need to cut some of that back.

Dutch Oven Cooking Outdoors

Since we're now in the season of spring, beautiful sunny skies, light breezes and beautiful weather, it's just perfect to match healthy spring with healthy Dutch oven foods. I have in mind making sourdough bread, Jambalaya, fresh fruit cobblers, and wheat grain puddings. I’ve also thought I’d try some biscuits again and a Dutch oven tomato soup to go with it. I've thought of gathering the kids around and show them how I cook the food so they too can appreciate and learn a more nature way of preparing food both in and out of the dutch ovens.

Dutch Oven Recipe Ingredients at Home

Spring is the perfect time to experience the not-so-busy-days with kids at home. Dutch oven one-pot meals can be learned as a solution when you go back to the quick and easy cooking days when time to cook would be so elusive again. While one-pot meals come in various forms, they all have the common concept of putting a variety of ingredients into a single vessel and cooking them all together, which children would enjoy helping in.

There’s no fretting about getting the timing right so that your broccoli is perfectly steamed at the same time as the pot roast comes out of your oven medium-rare and the rice is ready to fluff, things which everyone would be so challenged. Perhaps best of all, rather than a sink full of dirty pots and pans to scrub after dinner, there is only one pot to clean, your Dutch oven.

Frying in a Dutch oven? Yes! You can learn one-pot meals from light stir-fries to hearty skillet meals to heavy casseroles made with cans condensed cream-of soup, and deep-fried drumsticks. I did them all in my Dutch oven, and what's even great is that I can do the cooking both indoors and outdoors.