Spaghetti Sauce

[GrnBay007]

Made some pretty good homemade Spaghetti Sauce tonight but it was just missing something....


Recipes please.......

We gotta have some Italian's on board at PR. I know we have some good cooks!

[Deputy Nutz]

You need tomatoes.

[mraynrand]

and basil

[Deputy Nutz]

Salt

[mraynrand]

fresh garlic, pressed.

[Zool]

Lots of oregano

[SkinBasket]

A dash of ground red chilli pepper.

[sooner6600]

onions

[Patler]

Patler family recipe:

Grasp jar in left hand, cover in right.
Twist cover counterclockwise relative to jar and remove completely. Set aside.
Empty contents of jar into pan.
Warm contents and serve.
Rinse jar and place in recycling bin.
Discard cover.

Variation - grasp jar in right hand and cover in left. All else remains the same. Some people like to rinse and recycle the jar and discard the cover while warming the contents, before serving. Your choice.

Actually, I do have (had) a recipe for a basic tomato sauce that we used to make huge pots of with our homegrown tomatoes, onions and carrots, moderate spices, etc.. We would blend it and freeze it in meal size volumes. We then added additional tomatoes, more spices, garlic, mushrooms, etc when we used it for spaghetti, pizza, pot roasts, etc. It has been 20 years or more since I made it, and now I can't find it. Back in the days when I had bushels and bushels of tomatoes, and a herd of kids to feed!

[sooner6600]

You da man

[mraynrand]

Patler family recipe:

Grasp jar in left hand, cover in right.
Twist cover counterclockwise relative to jar and remove completely. Set aside.
Empty contents of jar into pan.
Warm contents and serve.
Rinse jar and place in recycling bin.
Discard cover.

Variation - grasp jar in right hand and cover in left. All else remains the same. Some people like to rinse and recycle the jar and discard the cover while warming the contents, before serving. Your choice.


:lol:

[mraynrand]

Saute fresh, diced mushrooms in olive oil with spices and fresh garlic - add to your favorite sauce.

[3irty1]

1 small onion, diced(or 2 or 3 shallots)
1 clove garlic
extra virgin olive oil
splash of white wine
1 28oz can San Marzano tomatoes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Marzano_tomato)
dried oregano
fresh or dried parsley
salt
1 squirt of sriracha

Saute the first and second thing in the third thing. Deglaze with the 4th thing. Add all the other things, put on spaghetti. If you have trouble finding San Marzano tomatoes, they are available at Glorioso's on Brady St. In Milwaukee. Unless its August, you should always be using some kind of canned plum tomato.

Also worth mentioning, a lot of cooks insist on tossing their pasta with olive oil after straining. I say that's wrong. Sauce doesn't stick to lubed up noodles (there's a joke there I'm pretty sure). Instead, just omit more olive oil or drizzle it on after the sauce.

[3irty1]

Saute fresh, diced mushrooms in olive oil with spices and fresh garlic - add to your favorite sauce.

Solid strategy as well to just combine sauces. A little bit of mushroom ragout, alfredo, romesco, or sofritto can bring a sauce to life. So can MSG or anchovy paste.

[SkinBasket]

1 squirt of sriracha

Have to be careful there. Some guys squirt more sriracha than others.

[Upnorth]

I like some mustard seeds in it as well. Also sea salt and brown sugar.

[Freak Out]

Always remove the tomato seeds.

[mraynrand]

Always remove the tomato seeds.

how do yo do that?

[Tarlam!]

It is the one sauce I make better than anyone on the planet. When my kids come home from boarding school, it's pasta and meat sauce. It is so good, that the best Chef I ever worked with (5 star hotel in Perth, Australia) said two words that changed my life. "Nice colour". That was like getting a knighthood.

My deceased wife wanted me to can the shit and sell it. Everyone who's ever eaten it agrees. The best sauce they ever ate. No secret ingredients, just the method makes it special.

[Deputy Nutz]

The best sauce they ever ate. No secret ingredients, just the method makes it special.

That is exactly how women feel about my semen.

[Tarlam!]

Also worth mentioning, a lot of cooks insist on tossing their pasta with olive oil after straining. I say that's wrong. Sauce doesn't stick to lubed up noodles. Instead, just omit more olive oil or drizzle it on after the sauce.

Interesting. If you work á la carte you have to lube the nudes. This is a huge discussion in Europe, BTW. What i didn't know until 2006 is that you should never boil pasta, but just simmer until it's al dente. Changed my life.

I lube. It makes it easier to get your 2nd, 3rd and 4th helping. Nobody leaves a trace of my sauce behind, but I get where 31 is coming from.

[Deputy Nutz]

I think anyone that tells another person what to do with their noodles is a pretentious bastard. If I like my noodles lubed, then fuck you I will lube my noodles.

[Patler]

It is the one sauce I make better than anyone on the planet. When my kids come home from boarding school, it's pasta and meat sauce. It is so good, that the best Chef I ever worked with (5 star hotel in Perth, Australia) said two words that changed my life. "Nice colour". That was like getting a knighthood.

My deceased wife wanted me to can the shit and sell it. Everyone who's ever eaten it agrees. The best sauce they ever ate. No secret ingredients, just the method makes it special.

So...are you going to tell us?

[Tarlam!]

So...are you going to tell us?

No, but I'd be happy to make it for you.

[SkinBasket]

Stop being so mysterious and send me some. I'll pay for shipping.

[Tarlam!]

Stop being so mysterious and send me some. I'll pay for shipping.

It really aint an art. Just do it right. There is really only one recipe.

[3irty1]

It really aint an art. Just do it right. There is really only one recipe.

Its simple and there's one recipe.
You're not going to tell us the recipe.
You're happy to make it for us.
But not sending it through the mail even if shipping is paid for.
What the hell guy? I gotta cross the Atlantic ocean for some good spaghetti?

[Patler]

It really aint an art. Just do it right. There is really only one recipe.

Prego or Ragu?

[Freak Out]

First....the key to a good spaghetti is to cook the noodles with the sauce. I promise I'll post my favorite recipe when I have time later.

[SkinBasket]

First....the key to a good spaghetti is to cook the noodles with the sauce. I promise I'll post my favorite recipe when I have time later.

You're disgusting.

[Tarlam!]

Its simple and there's one recipe.
You're not going to tell us the recipe.
You're happy to make it for us.
But not sending it through the mail even if shipping is paid for.
What the hell guy? I gotta cross the Atlantic ocean for some good spaghetti?

Some good spaghetti? Ha! We're talking Holy Grail of pasta sauce, not merely "good spaghetti!". It's worth the trip across the Atlantic. Good spaghetti indeed!

[GrnBay007]

C'mon Tarlam!! Share the recipe!! :)

[easy cheesy]

I'll put my spaghetti sauce recipe up against ANYONE'S and win! Gauntlet thrown!

I use pork, beef, onions, celery, olives, garlic, fresh... and YES Freak... seeded and peeled fresh tomatoes for the base of the sauce or POMI brand if you want to "cheat"... oregano, hot red pepper flakes, red green and yellow peppers, olive oil, mushrooms, basil, red wine, fig balsamic vinager, etc..... it kicks ASS!

[easy cheesy]

BTW... POMI is a GREAT substitute when you are in a hurry. I buy the chopped...not strained... just preference... but it is zero sodium and pure in taste... good stuff!

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515QXeW9vEL._SL500_AA300_PIbundle-12,TopRight,0,0_AA300_SH20_.jpg

[Tarlam!]

C'mon Tarlam!! Share the recipe!! :)

Look in any cookbook designed for Chefs. There really is inly one recipe. One really just HAS to do it correctly. It aint that difficult, but, everyone seems to screw it up. I don't. That Austrian Chef in Perth made certain I didn't.

[3irty1]

Dusted off the old CIA cookbook (6th ed) to get this:

Tomato Sauce for Pasta (3 qt)
2 c (500ml) olive oil
1.5 lb (675g) mirepoix
1 No. 10 can whole tomatoes
2 garlic cloves minced
1 oz (30g) salt
1 T (15ml) sugar

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepot. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and saute lightly for a few minutes. Do not let them brown.
2. Add remaning ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, about 45 minutes, until reduced and thickened.
3. Pass through a food mill. Taste and adjust seasonings.

[Tarlam!]

Yah, but ya need to brunoise the mirepoix imho. And the recipé as such is incorrect. Other than that,, it's fine.

[Tarlam!]

My mistake, 31. Your recipé is a simple tomato sauce. It's fine. I make a meat sauce.

No, it's not. 500ml of oil???? Are you mad??????
30 gr of salt???? I know you're mad.

[3irty1]

That did seem like a shitload of oil, but the recipe is verbatim. The salt seems reasonable for this much sauce at least to me but who measures salt anyways. It has a note that the oil may be cut in half but they have it as a 1T for a 3oz portion which is typical for Italy where sauce portions are smaller than in North America.

For meat sauce variation:
Omit mirepoix and half oil for tomato sauce.
Brown 2lb (1kg) ground beef, ground pork, or a mixture in oil or rendered pork fat. Ad 8 floz (250ml) red wine, 2 qt (2 L) tomato sauce, 1 qt beef or pork stock, and parsley, basil, and oregano to taste. Simmer for 1 hour uncovered.

I guess that makes a little sense since the mirepoix is already pretty much inside the stock, I think I like the plain jane tomato sauce recipe better though. I'm more of a meatballs guy anyways. Also no idea why its not veal stock. I've never even worked in a commercial kitchen that kept beef stock around.

[SkinBasket]

I'll put my spaghetti sauce recipe up against ANYONE'S and win! Gauntlet thrown!

I use pork, beef, onions, celery, olives, garlic, fresh... and YES Freak... seeded and peeled fresh tomatoes for the base of the sauce or POMI brand if you want to "cheat"... oregano, hot red pepper flakes, red green and yellow peppers, olive oil, mushrooms, basil, red wine, fig balsamic vinager, etc..... it kicks ASS!

Jesus, where do you put the spaghetti?

[Freak Out]

I love Carbonara.

[Deputy Nutz]

It is only spagetti sauce, put your cocks away.

[Tarlam!]

It is only spagetti sauce, put your cocks away.

Clearly, yours is smaller than mine.

[MJZiggy]

It is only spagetti sauce, put your cocks away.

You take all the fun out of cooking.

[MJZiggy]

I love Carbonara.

I do too, but that shit'll kill you.

[Tarlam!]

I don't think spaghetti is right for carbonara. Just my opinion. I mean, there's no law against it.

There fucking well should be though!

[George Cumby]

Yer a buncha' shit-talkin' wankers.

Brown:

1 pound ground bison
1 pound ground italian sausage

saute garlic, onion and thinly sliced mushrooms (EV olive oil, of course)

puree seeded fresh tomatoes

add tomatoes to garlic mix

one bay leaf

slowly simmer, like foreplay and making love, the longer, the better

add fresh basil, oregano, thyme

sugar, salt and balsamic vinegar to taste

about 30 minutes before serving, add finely chopped celery and bell pepper

serve and enjoy

[Tarlam!]

oh god. fresh basil? Might as well plaster it with friggin' spinach.

EV to sauté? You just killed a virgin for no decent reason.

[George Cumby]

oh god. fresh basil? Might as well plaster it with friggin' spinach.

EV to sauté? You just killed a virgin for no decent reason.

lol!

[Tarlam!]

lol!

Seriously mate. Basil leaves are really only any use when they are thrown in right at the end of anything. They're not up to a good simmer. they just die.

[mraynrand]

people keep saying to get the seeds out of the tomatoes, but nobody tells me how. How? Should you ever puree tomatoes with the skin still on 'em?

[Tarlam!]

people keep saying to get the seeds out of the tomatoes, but nobody tells me how. How? Should you ever puree tomatoes with the skin still on 'em?

I would tell you, but I bore you too much. So, fuck yourself and your tomatoes, please.

[mraynrand]

I would tell you, but I bore you too much. So, fuck yourself and your tomatoes, please.

That will work, but it's a pretty inefficient way to get the seeds out. And really, it's just a seed replacement, if you think about it.

Still, you're right, you do bore me.

[Tarlam!]

That will work, but it's a pretty inefficient way to get the seeds out. And really, it's just a seed replacement, if you think about it.

Still, you're right, you do bore me.

Thank you so much for acknowledging I even exist. I feel so unworthy. Yet, i know how to peel and seed a fucking piece of fruit.

[mraynrand]

I know how to peel and seed a fucking piece of fruit.

congratulations.

[3irty1]

Lets say you bought whole peeled tomatoes in a can. You open the can, pull out the tomatoes one by one and tear them open and wipe all the seeds out with you fingers into the sink. Goes faster than you might think. Or buy crushed tomatoes, those are usually deseeded for you. If you're using fresh tomatoes, you slice an X into the bottom of each one and blanch them. The skins come right off and then they are the same as the ones in the can.

[Tarlam!]

congratulations.

Oh my. I really did expect better.

I feel sorry for you, so I'll tell you.

Boil a pretty big thingy with water, you won't need salt.

Eye the tomatoe and carefully (I said CAREFULLY!!!!) put a scar into the skin in a quarter. DO NOT QUARTER THE FUCKING FRUIT - IDIOT!!!!

Fill your sink with really cold wated. ice cubes are a plus.

Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water. count to 10. Oh shit, can you count to 10?

Take them out of the boiling water without the need to dial 911 and throw them into the cold water.

[mraynrand]

Lets say you bought whole peeled tomatoes in a can. You open the can, pull out the tomatoes one by one and tear them open and wipe all the seeds out with you fingers into the sink. Goes faster than you might think. Or buy crushed tomatoes, those are usually deseeded for you. If you're using fresh tomatoes, you slice an X into the bottom of each one and blanch them. The skins come right off and then they are the same as the ones in the can.


Thank you

[Tarlam!]

Now, they will blister and you can peel them really easily with a paring knife.

Now, it get personal. There are two major preferences that I know of.

1. Cut the tomoato in 6 and fillet out the seeds and meat and use it for soup. It is the traditional way to retrieve tomatoe for concasse, a wonderful product, but very wasteful.

2. Quarter the tomatoes, wash out the seeds under running water. i hate the loss of water with that, ut, you do have more flesh.

[Tarlam!]

31, you, are a fucking cowboy.

[HowardRoark]

Yet, i know how to peel and seed a fucking piece of fruit.

Wrong thread.

[Tarlam!]

Wrong thread.

You fuck! hahahahahha.

[3irty1]

I agree with you on spaghetti being not ideal for Carbonara. Actually nothing is quite right with carbonara. The whole dish is conceptually sloppy technique wise IMO. I do it with hand pulled noodles, chinese style as they are made for stir frying, have a sturdier, chewier construction that holds up better to being tossed and aren't quite as rich which goes along way when tossed with one of the richest sauces imaginable.

[Freak Out]

Well....I've had bad, good and great Carbonara. Like most dishes people can completely fuck it up.

[Tarlam!]

I am fine with the idea of carbonara. The liason is really a talent IMO that every young saucier should be challenged with. Like turning a potatoe for any young chef, as it where. I am not familiar with your choice of pasta for it. I have seen street venders in Hong Kong pull noodles. Is that what you mean? If so, that is about the recipe that Marco Polo allegedly took with him, though his very existence is disputed among historians. Not sure if they are a great carbonara selection, I have to give it a whirl. For me, it must be small and plump so as to be tossed and soaked. Penne is a decent choice, I think.

[Tarlam!]

Well....I've had bad, good and great Carbonara. Like most dishes people can completely fuck it up.

Carbonara is probably the easiest sauce to fuck up there is. One, two degrees and you're looking at scrambled eggs.

[3irty1]

Yeah its the same thing probably. La mian if you're going to google it. Actually here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1iLQIhHjkk

Its really fast and showy which made it perfect for "pasta bar" out in the dining room in a resort where I worked. The dough is just flour, water, and salt. Since I already learned how to do it I use them for everything, soups, stir fry, and instead of egg pasta for the occasional itallian dish. Perfect for Carbonara imo. For the sauce I always cheat and temper the eggs. Why make it hard?

[GrnBay007]

It is only spagetti sauce, put your cocks away.

LOL!

You can pick the next food we discuss Nutz.

[Joemailman]

LOL!

You can pick the next food we discuss Nutz.

http://www.beertripper.com/OffTopic/2010/off-pics/Michelle_Beadle/Michelle_Beadle_eating_hotdog.gif

[mraynrand]

yoe mailmeen - dat remindz me of my laszt gf befgore my wifed. Cept i twuld be a bratwirst

[Upnorth]

Why is it so important to deseed the tomatoes, I made a bunch of sauce this fall from our garden tomatoes, some with seeds and some without. My kids all preferred the one with seeds. Also I froze some and canned some. So far I haven't noticed a difference. Which is better?

[Tarlam!]

In commercial kitchens, we do things a certain way, UNF. Tomato seeds will detract from the fruity flavour and add bitterness. The texture is also largely impacted by seeds and skin especially. That is how it is taught at chef school, anyway. Is it so? I really dislike the "whole tomato" varieties, but I think it's a personal thing.

31 and I have often been in discussion about our craft; I seem to be somewhat old fashioned (I prefer the term traditional ;) ), so, go with 31 for cutting edge chef info. He seems more generous in bending, not breaking the "rules".

I have never had the pleasure of having a patch of dirt large enough to grow my own tomatoes. I know what it's like using my own thyme, oregano and stuff. It must be sensational using real produce that you nurtured. You lucky so-and-so.

[Upnorth]

It is a blessing! We have about 1/2 acre for veggies, about 1/2 acre for flowers. We get way more veggies than we could ever use so we give a lot away. This year our potatoes did next to nothing, but our roma tomato's each gave about 20 lbs of fruit! It was insane. I simmered tomatoes to make sauce for about 3 days straight. I did deskin them. Lots of fun (not).

How does one football forum get two chef's on it? As a fat guy I feel blessed!

[Tarlam!]

Hahaha! great stuff and romas would be my choice!!

Actually, my chefing days ended in 1989 when I came to Europe and saw how poorly the guys get paid here! But my deceased and my kids still rave about my stuff and swear it's better than any restaurants they know. Even my chinese food is authentic, after having spent 2 years in a traditional restaurant early in my career! Can't make noodle like 31!! Serious skill set right there!

[3irty1]

The seeds might be a little bitter but my main reason for omitting them is they give your sauce a rustic look, texture that I don't particularly care for in a sauce, and add a lot of extra water which means much more simmering. If your kids like it that way then give them what they want. The only way to get sauce with seeds in it is to make it that way. I can certainly think of greater sins.

There are other things that can be done with the seed pod should you choose to remove it. Those seed pods are the juiciest part of the tomatoes and damn good raw. I've seen spanish tapas and salads and such that use just the filets of the seed pod.

[Tarlam!]

I can certainly think of greater sins.

Cooking sins worthy of a thread, 31?

[Patler]

I have never had the pleasure of having a patch of dirt large enough to grow my own tomatoes. I know what it's like using my own thyme, oregano and stuff. It must be sensational using real produce that you nurtured. You lucky so-and-so.

You don't need a patch of dirt to grow tomatoes. All you need is room for the largest pot you can find, then pick your variety to suit. I grew two plants in a half of a wine barrel. I don't raise a lot of them any more, but still raise a few plants each year. I have plenty of space for a garden, but to give my tomatoes better sun I often grow them in the largest pots I have (20"??) right on my deck. I stake them and prune them, so they require little more than the vertical space above the pot. My neighbor bought an upside down kit, with several plants in a large bag suspended from the stand. It worked very well. The plants cascaded down to the ground and produced very well.

Several years ago I found a nursery that is part of a vegetable club to preserve heirloom varieties of vegetables. The club scours the country to find old, old varieties that are no longer common and they raise and preserve seeds. Some absolutely fabulous tomatoes with amazing flavor! Recent years I have grown three plants each year. I pick one of the earliest varieties I can find, one of the latest, and one in between. I tend to look for smaller varieties, and have gotten some unique ones, purple, black, yellow and red striped, one with almost no seed cavity at all. Only one was horrible, its "unique" taste (or so the label said) was a funky, musty taste that I really did not care for at all. Each year I try something different, just for the heck of it.

[3irty1]

Cooking sins worthy of a thread, 31?

Probably is.

[3irty1]

You don't need a patch of dirt to grow tomatoes. All you need is room for the largest pot you can find, then pick your variety to suit. I grew two plants in a half of a wine barrel. I don't raise a lot of them any more, but still raise a few plants each year. I have plenty of space for a garden, but to give my tomatoes better sun I often grow them in the largest pots I have (20"??) right on my deck. I stake them and prune them, so they require little more than the vertical space above the pot. My neighbor bought an upside down kit, with several plants in a large bag suspended from the stand. It worked very well. The plants cascaded down to the ground and produced very well.

Several years ago I found a nursery that is part of a vegetable club to preserve heirloom varieties of vegetables. The club scours the country to find old, old varieties that are no longer common and they raise and preserve seeds. Some absolutely fabulous tomatoes with amazing flavor! Recent years I have grown three plants each year. I pick one of the earliest varieties I can find, one of the latest, and one in between. I tend to look for smaller varieties, and have gotten some unique ones, purple, black, yellow and red striped, one with almost no seed cavity at all. Only one was horrible, its "unique" taste (or so the label said) was a funky, musty taste that I really did not care for at all. Each year I try something different, just for the heck of it.

I worked with a guy who did something that sounds alot like that club. He had some pretty wild looking tomatoes. My favorite was these tiny yellow pear-shaped cherry tomatoes.

[mraynrand]

patler, you should get that Topsy turvey tomato planter - to save your back from agony. Then, you can get the teeter hang up device, and pick your tomatoes while you're upside down!

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/411xFFwAY0L._SL500_AA300_.jpghttp://www.teeter-inversion.com/graphics/sidebar_quality.jpg

[GrnBay007]

I tried putting a couple tomato plants in big pots one year and it didn't work so well. But I know several people who plant them that way and it works for them. Going to try it again this summer.

[Upnorth]

Potted tomatoes can dry out quick. Watch your moisture.
Also I like a little hot paprika in my meat sauce as it gives a nice earthy undertone. (Does that sound gay?)

[GrnBay007]

gives a nice earthy undertone. (Does that sound gay?)

LOL not at all. Kinda like putting some dark beer in chili ! :) Not sure if it's "earthy" but gives it an extra good flavor.

And yes, I think part of my problem was not watering the plants enough. I'll stay on task this summer. I absolutely love fresh tomatoes!!

[MJZiggy]

I'm not sure what kind to plant this year (besides the grape and roma). We tried mini beefsteaks last year and they didn't do well at all. They kept splitting and attracting more bugs than the other varieties. Any favorites? I'm also not planning squash or zucchini this year unless someone at work asks me to plant it. I get giant vegetables that no one eats.

[easy cheesy]

Jesus, where do you put the spaghetti?

I just throw it against the wall to see if I can get it to stick :wink:

[Patler]

I tried putting a couple tomato plants in big pots one year and it didn't work so well. But I know several people who plant them that way and it works for them. Going to try it again this summer.


Potted tomatoes can dry out quick. Watch your moisture.
Also I like a little hot paprika in my meat sauce as it gives a nice earthy undertone. (Does that sound gay?)

I water mine daily, and if it is really hot late in the summer when the plants are large, I water them twice a day. Mine have always done very well.

[Patler]

I worked with a guy who did something that sounds alot like that club. He had some pretty wild looking tomatoes. My favorite was these tiny yellow pear-shaped cherry tomatoes.

It is really kind of fun to grow the unusual looking ones, and most seem to have much better flavor than the common varieties marketed for home gardeners today.

[Joemailman]

I worked with a guy who did something that sounds alot like that club. He had some pretty wild looking tomatoes. My favorite was these tiny yellow pear-shaped cherry tomatoes.

If they are yellow and pear-shaped, why do you call them cherry tomatoes?

[gbgary]

veeery funny thread. i seldom venture to these other forums...don't know why really. i'm surprised skin hasn't made a noodle pulling joke.

[3irty1]

If they are yellow and pear-shaped, why do you call them cherry tomatoes?

I guess I should have said cherry-sized tomatoes.

[GrnBay007]

I water mine daily, and if it is really hot late in the summer when the plants are large, I water them twice a day. Mine have always done very well.

Do you put any fertilizer or plant food in the soil?

[Iron Mike]

veeery funny thread. i seldom venture to these other forums...don't know why really. i'm surprised skin hasn't made a noodle pulling joke.

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/409048_10150510503152367_728267366_8700814_1677746 710_n.jpg

[Patler]

Do you put any fertilizer or plant food in the soil?

I use Jobe's fertilizer spikes. They sell one formulated for tomatoes.

[GrnBay007]

Thanks Patler!

[Patler]

I also put fresh soil mix in my pots each year, to prevent any disease carryover from last year's plants.

[MJZiggy]

I use peat moss. We have heavy clay soil here and it does a good job of breaking up the clay in the beds. And the tomatoes get taller than me.

[Patler]

I use peat moss. We have heavy clay soil here and it does a good job of breaking up the clay in the beds. And the tomatoes get taller than me.

I have used peat moss too, mixed with my own soil which is also heavy on the clay side. Tends to hold moisture well, while loosening the soil for better aeration. Typical peat moss adds little nutrients, however. Some of the peat moss sold is actually mixed with compost for added nutrient value.

[Harlan Huckleby]

peat moss in spaghetti sauce? odd choice, not enough interest to look further into this thread.

[Little Whiskey]

I'm also not planning squash or zucchini this year unless someone at work asks me to plant it. I get giant vegetables that no one eats.

pick them more often when they are smaller.

cut them into thick slices, coat them in oil and italian seasoning and throw them on a hot grill. its great!

[George Cumby]

Seriously mate. Basil leaves are really only any use when they are thrown in right at the end of anything. They're not up to a good simmer. they just die.

You misunderstand me. I am buying what you are selling and tip my hat to your culinary expertise. I just like the "plaster it with spinach" image.

[George Cumby]

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/409048_10150510503152367_728267366_8700814_1677746 710_n.jpg

That's just not right.

[Upnorth]

Giant zuccini's can be awesome. Cut one in half, scoop out the seeds and half of the flesh of one of the pieces making a zucchini boat. Bake the boat at 350 for half an hour. While its cooking mix ground beef rice diced tomatoes and some spices together. Scoop that into the zucchini boat after the half hour. Coat with cheeze. Cook for 45 mins at 350. Eat a complete meal.
You will still have the zucchini guts and the other half. Compost the guts and throw the other half at someone you don't like. Do this about 800 times and you will finally use up all the damn zucchini's you planted! Why the hell do wee plant 6 zucchini's every year! I could build a little zucchini fort our of them! Even my sheep and horses got sick of them.

[GrnBay007]

Giant zuccini's can be awesome. Cut one in half, scoop out the seeds and half of the flesh of one of the pieces making a zucchini boat. Bake the boat at 350 for half an hour. While its cooking mix ground beef rice diced tomatoes and some spices together. Scoop that into the zucchini boat after the half hour. Coat with cheeze. Cook for 45 mins at 350. Eat a complete meal.


That actually sounds pretty good. My ex-mother in law used to cut them into slices and put some coating on them and fry them. Usually the smaller or med. sized ones. They were very good. Not the healthiest way to eat them of course but was always a treat to have them that way once or twice a year.

[Upnorth]

Its like a cabbage roll but with zucchini and cheeze instead of cabbage. I also have a great butternut squash recipe but it is really fattening!

[Little Whiskey]

Giant zuccini's can be awesome. Cut one in half, scoop out the seeds and half of the flesh of one of the pieces making a zucchini boat. Bake the boat at 350 for half an hour. While its cooking mix ground beef rice diced tomatoes and some spices together. Scoop that into the zucchini boat after the half hour. Coat with cheeze. Cook for 45 mins at 350. Eat a complete meal.
You will still have the zucchini guts and the other half. Compost the guts and throw the other half at someone you don't like. Do this about 800 times and you will finally use up all the damn zucchini's you planted! Why the hell do wee plant 6 zucchini's every year! I could build a little zucchini fort our of them! Even my sheep and horses got sick of them.

HAHA, I was debating which way to go. this was the other the other option I almost posted! great minds think alike. We have these a couple times during the year. Most of the times though the large Zucchini's are just used for target practice. Kinda like left over pumkins the kids don't sell. Its very amusing what a 12 guage will do to a pumkin or zucchini!

and now zigg has 3 options for those large zucchini's!!!!

[Harlan Huckleby]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_r-hXUYZP_kI/TTn-elFtHvI/AAAAAAAACNk/z57th8kRAFU/who+will+toss+my+salad.jpg

An "Out Magazine/Golden Press Book"? This is a fake book that somebody made on internet. Pretty funny idea, but why make it a gay thing?

[3irty1]

IMO zucchini is best grilled. Zucchini is one of the summeriest vegetables and grilling is easily the summeriest method of cooking. Zuckes are great sauted, roasted, fried, etc of course but in the peak of their season when its 90 degrees who wants to turn on their oven or stove top? My all time favorite zuke recipe is something like this:

Grilled Vegetable Bruschetta

1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
between 1 and 3 carrots depending on size
1 clove of garlic crushed
S+P
bit of grapeseed oil
4 plum tomatoes, diced
chiffonade of like 8 basil leaves
extra virgin olive oil
baguette, sliced, drizzled with olive oil and toasted

Cut first three vegetables on a bias to get like 1/2" thick grillable slabs on squash and 3/8" on carrots as the squash will shrink more. Grind garlic into paste by sprinkling with coarse salt and working against the cutting board with the side of a knife. Marinate zuke, squash, and carrot slabs with garlic, salt, pepper, and grape seed oil for around 45 minutes. You can just use more olive oil here but I don't trust you not to take it past the smoke point on your grill. The salt should draw some water out of the squash and make it possible to get some char on the veggies without turning them into mush. Grill the stuff until marked but not until mushy or black. Carrots will take a bit longer but you still would like to preserve some of their carrot texture. Set grilled vegetables in a bowl and place in the fridge. Don't cover it. When cold, dice vegetables, toss with fresh diced tomatoes and fresh basil, drizzle with olive oil, spoon it on the toast, and put it in your mouth.

This of course assumes that any of your zucchini flowers survived the tempura you made a few weeks earlier long enough to become zucchini fruit.

[Upnorth]

31 want to know how I cheat at grilling vege's. Little bit of seasame oil in italian dressing, drop of vanilla, toss the vege in mixture, grill and volia! As a purist does that offend you? The seasame oil gives the "what's your recipe" from aroma, the vanila is pschological warfare (makes the brain release endocrine (happy brain juice))

[GrnBay007]

That recipe sounds really good 31! And I never knew this ........ "Grind garlic into paste by sprinkling with coarse salt and working against the cutting board with the side of a knife". I love garlic and now have another way to use it...lol

[3irty1]

31 want to know how I cheat at grilling vege's. Little bit of seasame oil in italian dressing, drop of vanilla, toss the vege in mixture, grill and volia! As a purist does that offend you? The seasame oil gives the "what's your recipe" from aroma, the vanila is pschological warfare (makes the brain release endocrine (happy brain juice))

All that is hard to imagine on the palate but if the results aren't offensive I'm not offended.

[Upnorth]

You know what's really bad in spagetti sauce? About 2 tbls of celery salt. The lid came as I was shaking just a touch on, oops!