Basic Marinara Sauce

Basic Marinara Sauce
4 cups of sauce, enough to dress a pound of pasta (or a bit more)
This recipe is great for anytime you need tomato sauce, but it is a must for pizza!

Ingredients
4 cups (35 oz can) Italian plum tomatoes with juices
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup sliced garlic
1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes, or more to taste
1 tsp salt
1 stalk of fresh basil (or 1 tbsp fresh frozen)
Nice splash of hot tap water from rinsed from tomato can

Directions
Pour the tomatoes and juice into a big mixing bowl. Using both hands, crush the tomatoes and break them up into small pieces.

Pour the oil into a big skillet, scatter in the garlic slices in the oil and set over medium-high heat. Cook for 1-1/2 minutes or so until the slices are sizzling, add and toast the hot pepper flakes for another half minute.

Shake and stir the pan until the garlic slices are light gold and starting to darken. Immediately pour in the crushed tomatoes and stir in with the garlic. Rinse out the tomato can and bowl with water, and dump it into the skillet too.

Raise the heat; sprinkle in the salt and stir. Add basil into the sauce until completely covering it. When the sauce is boiling, cover the pan, reduce the heat slightly and cook for 15 minutes at an actively bubbling simmer.

Uncover the pan and cook another 5 minutes or so. The sauce should be only slightly reduced from the original volume; still loose and juicy. Remove the basil stalk or sprigs from the skillet and discard. Keep at a low simmer until the pasta is ready.

To dress pasta with Marinara sauce, toss and cook them together. Remove the skillet from the heat and toss in the cheese just before serving, or use for pizza sauce.

Dandelion (Cicoria) And Egg Breakfast

Dandelion (Cicoria) And Egg Breakfast

"Back to basics" and back to nature is my Moto! Dandelion known as Cicoria in Italian is part of the Chicory family, and is considered a staple in the culture. As a child I couldn't understand why the adults enjoying what I referred to as wild grass, but boy oh boy was I was missing out! You can use it in any recipe as you would with any other greens. Although it can be bought in the grocery store, I simply pick them on my three acre lot. So take the kiddies and go find yourself a field and teach them to eat from the earth! :)

Ingredients
Bunch of Dandelion (large handful)
1 tsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic sliced
Salt & pepper
1 egg

Directions
Wash the dandelions extremely well removing any blade of grass. Soak them for a few minutes. In the meantime, in a skillet pan boil water. Add some salt and blanch the dandelions. Strain and empty the water from the skillet retuning it to the stove top. On medium heat add the olive oil followed by the garlic and cook till golden. Add the dandelions stirring them for about 30 seconds.

At this point you can add the egg whole or scrambled. (I choose whole because I love to dip!) Add some salt and pepper on the egg and I like to add just a bit of water covering the skillet steaming the egg until completely white.

And that's it! For added flavour, when the dish is done add some salsa on top of the egg. Pair it with a slice of toast or as in my case, a slice of my leftover homemade marinara and cheese pizza! Buon appetito!

**Foodie Fran Note: sauté extra dandelions and keep in fridge for other uses ie. Pasta, beans, chopped in soup etc.

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 9 hours

This recipe includes a ham hock, yes a ham hock! Not an everyday ingredient, but I'll try anything once. My husband has been talking about this dish since I first made it some years ago. So I thought to surprise him and make it. Forgot how delicious this is! And the best part? After prepped, forget about it for 9 hours!

Ingredients
4 cups hot cooked rice
1 pound dried, small red chilli beans
3 celery stalks chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
2 garlic clove minced
2 2/3 cups condensed beef broth
1 ham hock scored in diamonds
2 tbsp oil
1 onion chopped
3 green onion chopped
3 1/3 cups water
1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 tsp salt

Directions
In a large pot, combine the bean with enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover the pot and let stand for 1 hour. Drain well. (Beans can also soaked overnight.)

In a large skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the celery, onion, bell pepper, green onions and garlic. Cook stirring often until the onions are softened, about 6 minutes.

Transfer to slow cooker. Stir in the drain beans, water, beef broth and the hot pepper flakes. Bury the ham hock in the bean mixture. Cover and slow cook until the beans are very tender, 9 to 10 hours on low.

Remove the ham hock and separate the meat, discard the rest. Return the meat to the pot and stir in salt. Serve beans in bowls spooned over hot cooked rice. Sprinkle with extra green onions.

**Foodie Fran's Note: Any small bean will work. To make this dish tastier, I added 1 cup of pasta sauce and black pepper when the beans were added. Just before serving, I added some Parmesan cheese because....wherever there is pasta sauce, there has to be Parmesan cheese! :)