This week's opportunity came with a phone call. I was calling a friend of mine to see if I could borrow a treasure chest for a lesson I was teaching. I asked how she was doing and what she was up to. The reply: "I'm just sitting at the hospital with my Dad." Wait, what?
So a lengthy conversation later, I told her dinner was on its way to her house the next day (the family was already set up with pizza that night). The next day everyone pitched in. My husband and oldest son made the blondies for dessert. My daughters did the salad. I made my favorite comfort food: a simmer-all-day recipe for pasta sauce that came to me via a friend who served a mission in Italy. A mama from Rome had shared it with him, and its become a hallmark feel-better food in our family. Its oh oh so so so easy (if you are going to be around to let it simmer all day) and one of the best things to eat after a cold or disappointing day.
Mama's Red Sauce:
2-32 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves (or more, depending on taste) of garlic, pressed or chopped
1/4 c. shredded carrot (I just grate a handful of carrots and call it good)
2 32 oz. cans of crushed tomato
Heat a dutch oven over medium heat. Add olive oil. Add garlic and carrots, saute until soft. Add the cans of crushed tomato, stir, and let simmer for 3 hours or so.
This covers a pound of pasta nicely. You can simply mix pasta and sauce together, top with parmesan and serve. Or you can serve it like the Mama from Italy did: Layer 1/2 pasta and sauce in a large 9x13 pan. Top with 1/2 lb. cheese (mozzarella or other mild italian variety) and cover with white sauce (recipe below). Top with remaining pasta and sauce and another 1/2 lb. cheese.
White Sauce:
1/4 c. butter
2-3 heaping tbsp flour
2 c. milk
1/2 tsp salt
Melt butter over medium low. Add flour and stir well. Add milk slowly and stir over medium low until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add 1/4 tsp nutmeg.
I only add the white sauce once in a blue moon because, well, it has 1/4 c. of butter in it. But when we do....ohhhh, it is so good!
We all brought the dinner over, even the three year old (who was very happy to carry the salad). The kids were proud of their hard work. We got to visit with our friends for a little. Friends, food, and thinking about someone else: that combination makes any day a good one. Even when you get home and the dinner you had cooking in the oven for yourself has turned to jerky. Oh well. We ate it and smiled...even the picky kids!
So a lengthy conversation later, I told her dinner was on its way to her house the next day (the family was already set up with pizza that night). The next day everyone pitched in. My husband and oldest son made the blondies for dessert. My daughters did the salad. I made my favorite comfort food: a simmer-all-day recipe for pasta sauce that came to me via a friend who served a mission in Italy. A mama from Rome had shared it with him, and its become a hallmark feel-better food in our family. Its oh oh so so so easy (if you are going to be around to let it simmer all day) and one of the best things to eat after a cold or disappointing day.
Mama's Red Sauce:
2-32 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves (or more, depending on taste) of garlic, pressed or chopped
1/4 c. shredded carrot (I just grate a handful of carrots and call it good)
2 32 oz. cans of crushed tomato
Heat a dutch oven over medium heat. Add olive oil. Add garlic and carrots, saute until soft. Add the cans of crushed tomato, stir, and let simmer for 3 hours or so.
This covers a pound of pasta nicely. You can simply mix pasta and sauce together, top with parmesan and serve. Or you can serve it like the Mama from Italy did: Layer 1/2 pasta and sauce in a large 9x13 pan. Top with 1/2 lb. cheese (mozzarella or other mild italian variety) and cover with white sauce (recipe below). Top with remaining pasta and sauce and another 1/2 lb. cheese.
White Sauce:
1/4 c. butter
2-3 heaping tbsp flour
2 c. milk
1/2 tsp salt
Melt butter over medium low. Add flour and stir well. Add milk slowly and stir over medium low until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add 1/4 tsp nutmeg.
I only add the white sauce once in a blue moon because, well, it has 1/4 c. of butter in it. But when we do....ohhhh, it is so good!
We all brought the dinner over, even the three year old (who was very happy to carry the salad). The kids were proud of their hard work. We got to visit with our friends for a little. Friends, food, and thinking about someone else: that combination makes any day a good one. Even when you get home and the dinner you had cooking in the oven for yourself has turned to jerky. Oh well. We ate it and smiled...even the picky kids!
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