Fresh Tomato Sauce

From a garden full of stink bug bitten and bird pecked tomatoes one has to decide what to do with the produce. They are not "pretty" to give away and too plenty to toss. The skins are ruined from the bugs making them tough to eat and the reddest brightest are pecked by the birds. What to do, what to do. Spaghetti sauce, that's what to do. No, they are not the best tomatoes for sauce but with enough cook time and a slight alteration to standard recipes, I am confident this will work.

Many recipes were consulted but done were actually followed. In a large dutch oven, one small diced white onion and two diced garlic were softened in one tablespoon of olive oil. Tomatoes (about a gallon bags worth) were washed and quartered and added to pot along with one teaspoon of rosemary, basil, oregano. Sugar was called for in the majority of recipes but was omitted as sweet tomato sauces are gross. Salt and pepper were added and the sauce was cooked until a thick consistency was reached.

Scaled for Likability: No, Thank You

It wasn't a fail as it was consumable but leftovers were tossed to the chickens. The sauce was bitter and mealy in texture. Back to the drawing table and more research. There are just too many tomatoes to waste.

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes for flavored tomatoes, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one can tomato sauce, two low sodium chicken and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots, juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almost tender. Green beans and corn tossed in, heat t

Way Too Rich, Extra Heavy Cheesecake

Pictures are deceptive. What this picture of this recipe does not show is how old and faded the print out paper is, how many stains are smudged across various spots, and the numerous notes written in the top right corner with the first one dating back to college days in 2001. Yikes, twenty years ago makes this paper print out old, no wait, that makes me old. Eek. Sadly, my current living quarters do not allow for cooking of this cheesecake. In fact the last time this recipe has been made have been close to six or seven years. That is just too long. Too long. Luckily, we are spending Spring Break at family with a real oven. A family who will help eat this oh so rich, very decadent, supremely yummy cheesecake. Modifications Made: There are four keys to a successful cheesecake. ONE: all ingredients must be room temperature. If your house is ice chest cold, then warm the ingredients on the stovetop. TWO: do not over mix. Excessive mixing creates air pockets resulting in split mi

Layered Lemon Curd Loaf

Good grief us heat loving Texans have made it. What a week it has been. Winter is over and Texas winter is back. Last night to celebrate the end of The Great Freeze 2021 with heating pads, electric blankets, and space heaters we indulgently ate ice cream. Yes, it was 32 degrees outside but directly in front of the space heater it was bliss.. Tonight it was back to everything lemon with The Best Lemon Curd Loaf Cake using this Lemon Curd recipe. Modifications Made: For the bread, sugar was reduced by a quarter cup, greek yogurt was used instead of sour cream, lemon extract instead of lemon zest, and glaze was omitted. Scaled for Likability: Good Love this lemon curd. Have made several versions and this is by far the easiest. Bread was not excessively sweet, had a moist, crumby inside, and a crunchy top layer. Layers of bread to curd was good but the addition of a sweetened cream cheese would have been better. Bread was served cold and would have been great with a drizzle of lemon

Eating Waffles

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