Monday, September 7, 2009

Adventures in Cooking

Today I tried to make a marinara sauce for my noodles and chicken.  Lesson learned: Ketchup is not an acceptable substitute for tomato paste.

15 comments:

  1. More grrrr--have to learn to log on BEFORE I comment!

    Think Martha Stewart would be proud of your lesson learned! Of course, we all know the real way to make sauce is to use Grandma's recipe and her garden tomatoes. The trick is the recipe--a "pinch" of this, a "shake or two" of that, a "chunk" of cheese", or "season to taste"--think she does it on purpose!

    Enjoying a leisurely Labor Day--great temps and good for bike riding.

    Now, I will let you get back to your attempts at cooking--(maybe that should be on Bob's list, too!)

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  2. Actually, I thought of Grandma and her cooking magic today. I made zucchini bread, which was like child's play compared to hers. (Although it was significantly tastier than the chicken a la Heinz.)

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  3. I agree---Grandma does magic with her garden vegetables. She also is a pro at substituting ingredients in recipes---with some substitutes working better than others!

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  4. Let's try this a second time---I posted a comment earlier and it hasn't shown up. Even with Dad's help! I thought of Grandma Lentz as well---she does do magic in her kitchen!
    Dad will see how the compliments fly today with his grilling expertise, and I am even going to have him slice the french bread!!

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  5. ewwwww! can you buy american ketchup in china? or did you bring some with you ...?

    that IS one thing I missed in Europe. their ketchup = yuck!

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  6. You should try making dumplings out of cardboard. I hear that's one of the best Chinese delicacies.

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  7. i love you my second favorite daughter.

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  8. Since this is on my list, I would suggest lots of chili powder and tabasco sauce. That works for the only recipe I know.

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  9. Lisa, the ketchup I got here was Heinz brand. It wasn't too bad! I have heard that at "Western" pizza places here, they sometimes use ketchup for the sauce.

    Mom, the reason your comment didn't show right away is that I have to moderate the comments and then publish them. Helps me make sure everything is within the communication guidelines. :)

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  10. Ah, Alison... You're funny.

    Apparently you were going for more of a goulash-y type noodle dish, eh?

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  11. To be honest, I was going for chicken parmesan. Perhaps a bad goal in a city with no spaghetti sauce, no cheese, and a limited supply of tomato paste.

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  12. Haha. I have hopes of stocking up on tomato paste here and learning to make spaghetti sauce myself. I have a recipe, just not the skills or the spices. But I think my mom will send me spices.

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  13. Would love to---tell me what spices you want and I'll mail them to you. Too bad I can't send you some cheese! :)

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