Wednesday 18 April 2007

Home Sweet Home

When Autumn comes along I find myself being happily homely, appreciating the simple things, like Phoebe sitting in the morning sunshine, lighting candles as evening falls and home cooking. I have a thing for wooden spoons. They have a gentle quality about them that always makes me feel wholesome, no matter what it is I'm cooking.

This meal is a chunky vegetarian pasta sauce and is an easy chop and stir kind of recipe - chop a few cloves of garlic, medium onion, zucchini (courgette), red capsicum (bell pepper), mushrooms, and green string beans. In a little extra virgin olive oil, gently cook the onion and garlic first, then add the remaining ingredients stirring until all is sweated down. Add a jar of passata (fresh tomato cooking sauce), a dash of red wine vinegar (or balsamic vinegar) and a handful of pitted kalamata olives and some chopped basil and oregano, if you have it. (add salt flakes and cracked pepper to taste).


Simmer for 20mins until it thickens a little, stirring occasionally (with your wooden spoon). Serve with your favourite pasta, grated parmesan cheese and handfuls of chopped continental parsley. Any leftovers are delicious as a filling in a toasted sandwich.


4 comments:

  1. I am loving that recipe.
    It's strange to read about the beginnings of fall, when spring flowers are popping their heads out of the soil here.
    I love the fall, though and can relate to that "warm" feeling and the urge to cook.

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  2. I can smell/taste it from here!
    I plan to take on this recipe, oh culinary wonder!

    Cool pics - Phoebe looks stunning in the rays! Shells with a candle - absolutely!

    Have you read, "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd? A sweet quote: "Everybody needs a seashell in her bathroom to remind her the ocean was her home. Seashells are Our Lady's favorite items, next to the moon."

    Thus, the mermaid bathroom, with shells and rocks and coral galore.

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  4. what a wonderful recipe! =) i'm always looking for good veggie recipes i could try that would also make my extremely carnivorous roomates happy, too.

    i'm loving this blog, and you can bet i'll be back!

    ps. my scepter is a wooden spoon, hehe. won't use anything else!

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