Fresh tomato sauce

This is a dish to be made in the summer with super fresh sun ripened tomatoes bursting with flavor. The fresher the better so get picking or get to a farmers market. I went to Gilcrease Orchard to pick my tomatoes, most people in Las Vegas don't even know about it which is a shame but hey more tomatoes for me.

 These are about half of their tomato plants.

You need 3 - 3 1/2 pounds of tomatoes, people usually use romas but I used these and they were great.

I got my onion and garlic from there too:

Fill a large pot with water, I used a 4 quart size, then put it on the stove set to high and bring it to a boil. Cut an X in to the bottoms of all of the tomatoes ( I somehow always manage to forget one so double check ) while the water is still waiting to boil get an ice bath for the tomatoes together.

 

 Shoo Beans, shoo.

 After the water is at a rolling boil you can start putting your tomatoes in. I did mine in two parts for 30 seconds each.  Once they've been in the ice bath they should be very easy to peel, peel all of your tomatoes.

Get a bowl with a strainer over it. Cut your tomatoes in half for romas or quarters for round tomatoes and and seed them over the bowl so the bowl catches all the juice but the strainer keeps the seeds out. 

Cut a medium onion in half and then dice one half, dump the tomato water and cook the onions in that pot on medium/high with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Cook until translucent, it's against my religion to have a tomato sauce with no onions. Add the tomatoes, put in 1 teaspoon kosher salt.

As soon as they get a bit bubbly around the edges mush them with a potato masher. I like my sauce pretty smooth so I mashed away. Once it has started boiling turn it down to low and simmer for 45 minutes. If the tomatoes still aren't at your desired texture for the sauce feel free to keep on mashing.

About 25 minutes in to the 45 minute simmer period for the sauce get a small pot, 1/4 cup of olive oil, a thinly sliced clove of garlic, a small handful of basil leaves and a pinch of red pepper flakes combine and put on stove on very, very low. We want this to cook very slowly so the flavors seep in to the olive oil. Once it comes to a simmer take it off the heat.

You want to start your pasta water about now unless you have one of those amazing instant boil things on your stove, I feel like I wait around half my life waiting for pasta water to boil. We're going to want to reserve the pasta water for the sauce. How much pasta you want to cook is up to you, do you like your pasta swimming in sauce or do you like it to be just coated?

When the timer for the sauce goes off strain the olive oil mixture and put the olive oil in to the sauce, stir until it's completely combined. Taste your sauce, to me it needed a little something so I added in a few twists of a black pepper grinder on fine.

You should cook your pasta to almost al dente.  Get a large skillet out and ladle how much sauce you want in to the pan, a small ladle full of the reserved pasta water  and finally your spaghetti. Use tongs to stir and and cook it on medium until the pasta water and sauce have combined, the pasta water will help the sauce stick to your pasta better. Add in your tablespoon of SALTED, yes salted butter now. Cook until the butter has melted completely.

                                                 Now you can plate and garnish with fresh basil.

I was worried that adding that much olive oil that late in the game would make it oily, but no it made it glossy and velvety to the tongue. I tasted it and my immediate thought was "this is special" It's so complex but so very simple at the same time. It tastes fresh but there are layers of flavor there that are mind blowing in their simplicity.

                                     Fresh, simple, perfect. Now for some glamor shots.

                                        Happy cooking, hope you all are having a great summer!




Inspired by Scott Conant ( aka the cute Italian guy from Chopped ) Scarpetta's Tomato and Basil

Italian cream soda

             It gets really hot here, like 120F hot. I love finding different cold beverages to drink during    the summer. This one is so pretty it makes me feel like twirling a parasol. 

     Italian cream sodas didn't originate in Italy, they're actually an American thing. I think they're called "Italian" cream sodas because most of the time people use Italian syrups to make them. I made my own syrup. I picked blueberry because I love them and purple is my favorite color.

 

 To make the syrup you need one part filtered water, one part sugar and two parts fruit. You can use any fruit, if it's a high water fruit though I'd use a bit less water. I used one cup, one cup, two cups for my blueberry syrup.

 Bring the water to boil, then pour in the sugar. Stir until it's dissolved and then add the fruit. Boil for about 10 minutes, stir every once in a while. Put the heat on medium and  cook for another 5 minutes.

 

I've never been accused of being good at pouring, let alone doing it while taking a picture of it.

Strain them and press on the fruit with the back of a spoon a little to make sure you get all the syrupy goodness out.

Put the syrup in the fridge until it's nice and cold, I put mine in the freezer for a bit because I'm impatient.

Get your tall glass and syrup.

 

Put in one or two tablespoons of the syrup, I opted for two but I live life on the wild side.

 Add the club soda, about an inch from the top.

 Oh so fizzy!

 

 Add your tablespoon of cream, or half and half. If you wanted to make this vegan you could use full fat coconut milk instead.

 Beans got a little excited when it was time for the cream.

 I added some home made whipped cream to mine. Garnish with a bit of the fruit you used to make the syrup then stir a little bit.

 I added a bit more syrup on the top.

Put the left over syrup in a jar and store it in the fridge for future use.

Happy slurping! I mean, uh, being lady like and taking delicate sips, twirl those parasols girls.

Harney & Sons Earl Grey Supreme review

       

I purchased this tea for my Husband, he adores Earl Grey. I think it makes him feel a bit like Captain Jean-luc Picard.

 

It comes in a very attractive and sturdy tin.

                                  

                                   My first impression of this tea is that it smells amazing. If I could get a perfume that smelled exactly like this tea I'd wear it every day. It's intoxicating. The leaves are of good quality and it looks well blended. This tea is a mixture of black tea, oolong and the silver needles of the white tea.

                                                                           

Harney & Sons suggest  212° F temperature.

 I steeped mine for 5 minutes.

My sweet Beanie cat kept my company while the tea was steeping. He and I bird watched together.

The liquor is lighter than other Earl Greys because of the larger tippy teas and silver tips. The aroma of the steeped tea is excellent, it compels you to take a deep breath as the steam hits your face. I had that "ahhh" moment where I could feel my shoulders relaxing just a bit.

 I found this tea to be very well balanced, which is saying something because there is more bergamot in this tea than the average Earl Grey. It is also sweet all on it's own so no sugar is needed. I paired it with one of the shortbread cookies left over from Mother's day. I found it complimented the rich, buttery cookie very well. If you hadn't guessed already I really loved this tea and I don't even much care for Earl Grey. I bought my tin from Amazon if you're looking to buy some, which you should because it's divine.

 This snack set I used is called Amber Tiara and it was made by the Indiana Co.

 This is one of my favorite snack sets, it reminds me of beautiful stained glass when the light passes through it.

 Does anyone else get nosy teatime visitors?

These last two pictures were taken a few months ago and are a prime example of Mo nosing about.

 Milk went absolutely everywhere.

Happy tea drinking!