Petit Pois

Tomato Sauce Recipe.

aeriesakura — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:09:34 +0000

Warning, this post has several photos in it, and as my first picture post, I’m not particularly good at setting it up.

Like I said earlier, every week I wonder what I should make for dinner. Sometimes my mom gives me ideas of things to make, sometimes I randomly think up things. Last week, I made beef stew, and the week before that I made psuedo gyros. Both of which I’ll make posts about sometime in the future, but I wanted to post about this while it was still fresh in my mind. Hopefully I’ll make them both again, and post pictures of them. Both were delicious by the way. Last sunday, I was sitting downstairs in the family room harrassing my mom as per usual. She was looking through shopping ads, and I stole the grocery store ones once she was done. I was hoping to come up with an idea for dinner this week. I couldn’t think of anything other than the calzones I suggested already, which we had for dinner tonight.

Mom suggested I make stuffed cabbage rolls. I thought about it. Then we decided that I would. Then of course, I had to do chores and take a shower. Because going grocery shopping while feeling gross and a little stinky is usually not a good idea, nor something I ever do. After I got out of my shower, I started looking for recipes. I couldn’t find a single one I was happy with. Some said to use crappy jarred tomato sauce. Others said just to use canned tomatoes. Some said to cook the rice, some said not to. Some said to blanch the cabbage leaves, others didn’t even mention it. Frustrated, I started looking for cinnamon roll recipes. I’ve been feeling the urge to bake for awhile, and I figure I can just wing the cabbage rolls. I decided that later this week, I’ll make cinnamon rolls according to Alton Brown’s recipe. I love Alton Brown, and his recipe was the best I could find.

But back onto the subject. Earlier today, mom told me that I should make the cabbage rolls tomorrow, since she pulled the ground beef out of the freezer when she got home. As you can see below. Our countertop is quite a mess. Two different kinds of flour(Dad made sourdough bread, which is in the wegmans’ bagel bag. He also promised to make us rye bread.), Orion’s(My dog) medicine and peanutbutter, pizza dough for the calzones, and semi frozen ground beef for the stuffed cabbage rolls tomorrow.

I was recently inspired by reading a post about making tomato sauce from scratch from The Food in my Beard. (I’ve been reading their blog, and drooling for a couple weeks now. Contemplating making more stuff from scratch.) So I decided that I would make tomato sauce for the stuffed cabbage rolls. Here’s my basic recipe. I pretty much made it up as I went.

Basic Tomato Sauce.

3 onions.(I used small-ish cooking onions. Try to make sure you have a fan handy, cause my eyes were watering something awful.)

Olive oil.(However much you want to use, mostly just for cooking the onions, seasonings, and tomato paste in.)

Seasonings: Dried Oregano, dried basil, garlic(both fresh and powdered.), salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and a bit of sugar to cut the acidity.

1 large can of tomato paste.

Tomatoes( I used 2 cans whole peeled tomatoes, and 3 fresh tomatoes.)

Parmesan to taste.(Depending if you like it or not, and whatever kind you like.)

First I chopped up the onions. That’s just how I chop them, you can do it any way you like. I personally cut them thinly length wise, then dice them into rough small chunks. They don’t have to be completely uniform, and they can be whatever size you like.

Next heat up the pot, add some olive oil, then the garlic. Slowly add in the oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes. Remember to gently crush them in your hands first. I didn’t add the oregano and basil until the onions were in, but it doesn’t really matter all that much.

Next I added the onions, and let them cook down a bit. You wouldn’t think 3 onions is that much, but it really is. They cook down a lot though.

Then I added the tomato paste and cooked it a bit by itself to bring out the flavors of it. This would’ve been more successful if I used a larger pot. The paste and the onions were too close, so I just ended up mixing them together and letting them cook that way.

I then discovered that I had fresh tomatoes still, chopped them up, and added them to the mix. I let it cook for about 10 minutes, I believe.

I added a bit of sugar to it at this point, tasted it, and discovered I had added too much. So I started adding the canned whole peeled tomatoes to it, tearing them into smaller chunks. With the canned whole tomatoes in it, and their juice, it was perfect. It wasn’t too sweet anymore. I let it cook down for about 5 more minutes before adding some parmesan cheese to it.

I also added a bit more basil to it at this point, because it was a bit bland. Then I let it cook for an hour or so.

This picture is the final product. The verdict? The sauce is delicious, easily the best tomato sauce I’ve ever had. Normally we just use canned sauce and add some seasonings to it, but this is so much better. If I can find the time to, next time I make anything with red sauce this is going in it. We had some with our calzones tonight, so I need to make a bit more for tomorrow. Unfortunately, I didn’t take pictures of the calzones. I wish I had, they were delicious. My calzone was practically pornographic with oozing cheese, ricotta, spinach, a little sauce, and a tiny sprinkling of pepperoni.

First ever blog post.

aeriesakura — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:17:05 +0000

So recently I decided to join the world of food bloggers. I suppose I should introduce myself. :p

My name is Arielle, or Aerie(Ari), for short. I’m a fairly abnormal 18 year old, if you couldn’t guess already by the fact that I’m writing a food blog. I’m a college freshman, or at least I will be (again) once I start in a community college next semester. I had to drop out due to financial difficulties. Since I’m currently unable to find a job, and bored out of my mind, I decided to start cooking more often. I now cook dinner for my parents and I once a week. So I figured starting a blog about my adventure into the culinary world would be an interesting thing to do. I was inspired by all of the blogs I’ve seen as I’ve looked for recipes, or ideas of things to make for dinner.

I learned how to cook at an early age, probably about 7 or 8. I helped my grandmother cook pretty much every day until she died when I was about 11 or 12. As such, my style of cooking is very similar to how most grandmother’s would.(A pinch of that, a bit of this until it looks right. Taste and see if it tastes right kind of thing.) I’ll try to avoid doing that too much in the recipes I post.

A lot of my recipes will be very simple easy things, and some will be more difficult as I explore more different things. If you’re looking for a blog with someone who buys all organic foods, is vegan, or is very talented in the culinary field, you won’t find it here. If you’re fine with a blog not meeting those qualifications, but attempting to be entertaining none the less, you’re more than welcome. Especially if you come bearing awesome recipes or advice for someone as inexperienced as I am.

I hope you’ll have as much fun seeing my journey as I do experiencing it.

Chili recipe.

aeriesakura — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:42:03 +0000

I don’t have any pictures yet, but I’ll add some next time I make it. Chili is a very common thing for me to make, because it’s one of the recipes I remember my grandma made. I remember being at her house every day when I was little. I would take the bus to school from Nana’s house, and I would take the bus back to her house in the afternoon. She was a major part of my life when I was little, I spent more time with her than I did at home! I have fond memories of whenever I was sick, I had a snow day, or when school was out of session for christmas. We would always make some kind of soup. In the later years, it was usually chili. There’s nothing like watching the snow accumulate outside through the window as you play video games with your grandma, or help her by adding things or stirring whatever you’re cooking. I remember adding spices to the chili and stirring it as I could hear Nana playing Animal crossing on gamecube in the living room. (My family still jokes about the never ending “WOOHOO WOOHOO”ing.) I’ve made this recipe a lot of times over the past few years, at least once or twice a year. Personally, I prefer to use stew beef in my chili, but Nana always used ground beef. So this is a very vague recipe, with lots of possibilities. I personally like to top my chili with crackers and a little extra hot sauce, occasionally a little cheese. I also usually cut up an onion for people to put ontop of it too. Raw onion adds a nice texture to the chili.

Basic Chili recipe.

Roughly 1 lb beef, ground, stew chunks, whatever you like.

Garlic(Preferably fresh, but you could use powder. Again, use it according to your preferences. We like garlic, so we use a good sized spoonful of fresh minced garlic from the jar.)

A little bit of oregano or italian seasoning.(Dried.)

Lots of chili powder(To your taste of course.)

A little bit of crushed red pepper.

A little paprika.

Salt and pepper to taste.

1 small can of tomato paste.

A little sriracha sauce(Which you can find in the asian aisle of your grocery store. This is optional though, because it’s VERY spicy. You could use regular hot sauce, but it doesn’t have the depth of flavor that sriracha has, nor the heat. Nana never used this, but I love Sriracha and I use it in almost everything.)

2-6 cans of tomatoes(Depends on what kind you use, and how much chili you make. This recipe could easily feed 4+ people, with enough leftovers to feed them again tomorrow. Nana always used 2 cans of whole peeled tomatoes, and a couple cans of diced ones.)

A little bit of sugar or sugar substitute to taste.(This is to cut through the acid of the tomatoes a bit.)

A large can or bottle of tomato juice.(Use this instead of water for the most part, then switch to using water once it’s gone.)

2 cans of kidney beans.(Nana always used kidney beans, and so have I. But I’m sure you could replace them with any other kind you like, or however many cans you want. We’re not very fond of beans, so we don’t use very many.)

First, you get a decent sized pot and brown the beef in it. Then you add a little butter or oil, and then the garlic. Add the rest of the spices, crushing the oregano and red pepper flakes in between your hands gently to release more flavor from them. Next add the tomato paste, and let it fry a little bit with the beef and seasonings. Then add the tomatoes, gently ripping apart the whole peeled ones with your hands, if you choose to use that kind. Minor warning, they squirt juice out at you, so try to be very careful or wear clothing you don’t mind tomato stains on. Next add some of the tomato juice, and the sriracha if you choose. Let the chili cook on medium heat uncovered for about 2-5 or more hours, depending on how much time you have. Remember to stir it about every 10-15 minutes, and turn down the heat a bit if it boils. Ideally, you want it to cook somewhere between a simmer and a light boil.

Somewhere during that time, taste test the chili, and see if the spices are right, add more spices accordingly. About half an hour to an hour before you want to serve the chili, add the kidney beans.(Adjust the timing according to what kind of beans you use. Canned beans take about 30 mins- an hour, depending on how well cooked you like them. I suggest straining the beans and rinsing them before you put them into the pot if you use canned beans. They come in this gross kind of.. goo substance. The fact that the kidney beans turn it pinkish just makes it worse.)

Serve the chili with whatever accompaniments you like, try to make each thing optional for the people eating it instead of just putting it in the bowls to make it look nice. Pretty food does not necessarily mean it’s tasty food to everyone. (Most people like options of sour cream, crackers, bread to go with it, cheese, hot sauce, onions. Some other ideas might be interesting though, such as guacamole or crushed up tortilla or corn chips.) Personally, I try not to make my chili too spicy, because those of us who like spicy food can always add more heat. But people who don’t can’t take it away as easily.