One great thing I love about Terri Webster Schrandt is that she makes her Sunday Stills challenges so sharable. For her Sunday Stills Black and White Challenge today, I’m using Cee’s Thursday Black and White Challenge topic of Kitchen.
I looked in my archives, Cee. I really did. What I found was that I didn’t have much to share. Even stretching to outside of the kitchen – you know all the meals that most people remember to take pictures of before they take a bite? I can’t even do that well. I’m always hungry and I forget.
Chocolates 
Desert Rose accessories 
A delicious sandwich 
From our Bellavista Garden 2021
While I worked, I rarely ate at home. There wasn’t time and I was often on the road. After I retired, I began cooking more, but we still both loved to go out to eat.
After COVID 19, we changed like everyone else in the world. We stayed home and had fun cooking.
Cooking is one of the strongest ceremonies for life. When recipes are put together, the kitchen is a chemical laboratory involving air, fire, water and the earth. This is what gives value to humans and elevates their spiritual qualities. If you take a frozen box and stick it in the microwave, you become connected to the factory.
Laura Esquivel
Even though I learned to enjoy cooking, I don’t take pictures of my mess. I’m still in too big of a hurry to eat!
After seeing Cee’s still life of her cat and food stuff, I thought, “What about all the stuff that goes into making original authentic Italian pasta sauce?”
Vince came in to help me set up for still life pictures, and I hope you enjoy the gathering of ingredients to make sauce as “Dad” (Vince’s) made it.
Dad’s Pasta Sauce
No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, and the wisdom of cookbook writers.
Laurie Colwin
First you make the meatballs.
- 1.5 pounds of hamburger
- 1 C Panko Italian Bread Crumbs
- salt and pepper a dash
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp dry basil
- 1/2 tsp dry oregano
- 1/2 tsp onion powder if you don’t use real onions in the sauce.
- 1/4 tsp dry mint leaves (that’s the secret).
Roll the meat into balls and cook them over a very low heat until they are evenly browned.
Cut the Spicy Italian sausage to make sure the juices come out and flavor the sauce. Brown the sausage slightly. Dice up about 1/2 onion and brown the bits lightly in either oil or butter.
While that cooks, make the sauce.
- 4 cans of tomato sauce
- 2 cans water
- 2-4 cans tomato paste (missing because I’m out of it.)
- 3-4 leaves of fresh basil (also missing from the picture)
- 1 tbs dry oregano
- browned onions
- sausage
- meatballs
Cook covered for about 2 hours or longer if you want thicker sauce. Uncovering thickens the sauce as well. Dad cooked his all day. Vince’s sister Cindy makes her sauce with 4 cans of water then cooks it forever. It is still thinner than mine, but that is what Dad did. (I cheat.)
Olive oil is essential for every Italian meal. In this case we put some in the water to boil the pasta so it doesn’t stick.
Don’t Forget the Red Wine
I come from a non-drinking family, but most Italians enjoy their wine. We have discovered Robert Mondavi’s Cabernet Sauvignon Bourbon Barrel Aged. The bourbon barrels take out the nasty bite that I don’t like in most red wines. Our neighbor has an app that rates wines and the highest she’d ever seen was a 3.7. This one rated 4.1.
That’s it for my kitchen pictures. Thanks for your help in arranging things, Vince. If you want to join the challenge fun, click the links at the top of the page.
Part of Entering Challenges Is Visiting
My Reading List from Cee’s Blog
- ONE WOMAN’S QUEST II
- ONE LETTER UP – DIARY
- JOANNE’S CRAFTS AND ADVENTURES
- OUR EYES OPEN
- LISA S EVERYDAY LIFE
My Reading List from Terri’s Blog
Reminder
Frank from Beach Walk Reflections will host this week’s Writer’s Quotes Wednesday Writing Challenge in which you use quotes to tell your story. Topic: Spring. Be sure to leave a pingback either in his comments or in your post connecting back to his blog. We will be sure to visit you.
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
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