cooking and sewing

because one often feels like nesting with the approach of winter, we've been making some yummy things with the last of the tomatoes from sabin's tomato plant and we've been sewing some throw pillows for the chairs in the living room.

fabulous tomato pasta sauce

8-10 ripe tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 medium onion, diced
3 fat cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 small chili (can be left out of kids are being fed, or just use a mild one)
salt & garlic pepper to taste
T of fresh thyme leaves (or other herbs you have access to)
drizzle of cream

sauté the onions and garlic and chili, add the tomatoes, salt & pepper and thyme. simmer 'til the tomatoes are cooked down.  put in a drizzle of cream just before you serve it--it takes out some of the intense, acidy tomatoiness in a good way.

i served it over fresh pasta with garlic-butter portobellos as the "meat."  it was fabulous.

i made a similar version of the tomato sauce (sans cream) and with quite a lot more chili to use like the patatas bravas sauce we get at the tapas place in greenbelt over a potato omelet.  yum.  what was left over, i threw into a batch of The Soup, so you might say that it's a very versatile thing to have around the house.  and it's good for those last tomatoes that aren't quite ripe or tasty enough to eat in BLTs or salads.

* * *

and now, for the pillows. sabin wanted to sew and since i've been stashing fun fabrics for awhile now, we decided to see what we had that could be turned into some pillows for the chairs in the living room. sabin chose these fabrics and with a little bit of help from me, even sewed herself on the sewing machine. we ended up with this cheerful and autumny pillow:

side 1

side 2

and last night, i got a 10 p.m. creative rush and started making this one:

fun!

The Splendid Table

While browsing Barnes & Noble the other day, the cookbook section, I noticed a book called The Splendid Table. I though, "Huh, it's not just a show on NPR." So I've got this new table, some little brown placemats to try to protect it, and the nifty new dishes from Target. I got out my rocks from Møn's Klint and at long last found a taper candle to go in it. Seriously, a taper candle. How hard are they to find? HARD! Target had peach colored, scented ones, in a box of two. I wanted the big brick of taper candles one gets from Ikea. Again, I stopped at Pier 1 and found the candles, though not in such a big brick. And I rushed home to complete my own Splendid Table.

I've done just a bit of cooking since getting back to the US a month ago. And now I truly have my kitchen put together and ready to use. If only someone would finish eating this huge pot of chicken & noodles.

Before you write your cookbook...

You'll want me to cook everything in it. You forgot to tell me when to put the bacon in! I need all the steps, man.

Hey, I made that dish then. It's simply bubbling on the stove right now, so I don't have the report just yet. I didn't throw it in the oven as I'm not too sure about the rubberish handles on my big pot. I'll need a nice pot like your orange ones if I'm going to keep making your dishes. By the way, I'm really hungry for the white fish with leeks and coconut milk. Have you posted the recipe for that dish? I'll need it next, though the leftovers I'll have after tonight will last me 2 or 3 days.

why is it...

...that food cooked outdoors just seems to taste better?

i'm making nigel's coq au reisling on the rusty old stove that's outside the back door today.

i cooked the entire dish out there. i only diced onions and cut mushrooms in the house, but cooked it all while standing outside. of course, the dish, which requires hours of slow simmering, lends itself perfectly to cooking outside in the heavy le cruset pot. it's picturesque, it smells heavenly and it's just so great to be outdoors! this is going to be delicious!

especially since i had this inspired idea, to steam asparagus on the top right before we ate. we sat outside and ate it out of bowls while sitting near the stove, as it started to get dark. i should have posted this on the other blog because it was definitely a moment of perfect clarity.

spinach snacks

that is excellent!!! (tho' i admit to being slightly skeeved by the dr. pepper substitution--not sure nigel would approve, tho' nigella lawson would, she has a recipe for ham boiled in coke in one of her cookbooks) i am proud of you and feel that the work we did on your upbringing while you were here had at least some small effect. (heehee!) keep up the good work!!!!

tho' i'm not sure spinach is a good after school snack. make it for the meal proper.

everyday moments

last night, we had a great dinner, i know i already described it a bit below, but i keep thinking about it, so i have to go on about it again...

it was valentine's day, so we bought some filet mignons. to go with them, i made portabellos sauteed in garlic butter (i think sabin ate most of those) and my old favorite green bean dish. it's green beans boiled just long enough to turn bright green, but not lose their crunch, then tossed in with some bacon that's been sauteed together with onions. at the end, you throw a handful of chopped salty almonds. it's heavenly. and instead of any potato (carbs bad, you know), a very simple salad of baby spinach leaves and mango. we drank the last bottle of that fantastic spiers pinotage from the western cape. perfection.

but best of all, we lingered at the table, talking and laughing and trying the valentine chocolates. sabin loves those days when we stay at the table, laughing and telling stories. these are the things that memories are made of. everyday moments.