Mama Mia! It's Spaghetti Sauce!

I spent an afternoon this week chopping, mixing and cooking a big batch of homemade spaghetti sauce to freeze for the winter (while doing so, make sure to play your favorite international music -- or some Jimmy Buffet will do). It's a great time to do it with the fresh tomatoes available.  It's basically tomatoes, onion, garlic, tomato paste, water and Italian spices (the recipe calls for mushrooms or black olives, which I omitted -- I might include one of those next time). The key is to let it simmer on the stove awhile.  I'm already enjoying it -- it's very chunky -- and healthy! Just the way I like it.



Use fresh homegrown or farmstand tomatoes, if possible!

Let it simmer for a long time on the stove.  Mmmmmm . . .



It's wonderful with a little parmesan cheese. Buon Appetito!



Here's the recipe:

Fresh Tomato Spaghetti Sauce

1 c. finely chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. cooking oil

2 lbs. tomatoes, diced

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 T. sugar

2 t. instant beef bouillon granules

1 t. oregano

1/2 t. basil

1 large bay leaf

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1 1/2 c. water

1 4 oz. can mushrooms or black olives

You may double or triple this recipe.

Cook onion and garlic in oil.  Add remaining ingredients except for mushrooms/olives.

Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 75 to 90 min (or longer)

stirring occasionally.  Remove bay leaf.  Add mushrooms/olives and simmer to desired

consistency, 15 to 60 min (or longer).

If divided and frozen, add heaping tablespoon of tomato paste when thawed

for serving to re-thicken sauce.

Sauce may be frozen in ziploc bags.

For life is what you make it.  So make it good!

Summer Pleasures

             Here are a few of my favorite summer images.  I hope you enjoy!


Celebrating the birth of our country and its freedoms . .



Homegrown tomatoes ripening on the vine . . .

Fresh peaches lined up on the window sill . . .



Bare feet in flip flops . . .






Juicy watermelon to slurp on .



Fresh sweet corn on the table.

 

And an icy cold snow cone to beat the heat!

For life is what you make it.  So make it good!





Oh Rats!!!!!

           

            Meet Daisy and Lily.   Daisy is definitely the most outgoing and cuddly.  She likes to run up and down my daughter’s arm and even crawls down the front of her shirt! Lily prefers to sit in the corner of the room and take in all she sees.  She does come out when we get her play tunnel twisted in a knot on the floor and she likes to run through it, popping in and out.
            No, these little varmints aren’t ours.  We’ve been rat-sitting for some of our friends this week.  My daughter's being paid for her work – and that’s just fine – I’ll let it be her job!  Yes, they’re cute and furry and have perky little ears, but that TAIL!  It’s long and pointy and, well, I just can’t get past it.  So I sit on her friend’s bed while she has fun playing with these two animals and watch them crawl all over her! 
            Her first job is to dish a mere teaspoon of baby food in a tiny bowl (these two love their pureed squash) and then, when we reach her friend’s bedroom, she has to hide it in the top drawer so the two won’t see it until it’s time to eat.
           You see, these little creatures need their exercise just like the rest of us, and a little social stimulation, if you will.  So, before she takes them out of their three-level condo, she must roll up a bath towel and cover the crack at the bottom of the door, in case they get any ideas about escaping to the wider world.  She then opens the cage door and they hop down onto a footstool and onto the rug.  Daisy is black-striped.  Lily is brown-striped.  And, as I said, they definitely have their own personalities.  After they get their play time, they start to look up longingly at their food dishes. She then takes the little bowl of squash out of the dresser drawer, and fights to place it in the cage while the two crawl all over her hand!  Then it’s 12 small kibbles and 6 large ones in another bowl, a teaspoon of rice in yet another one, and oh, yeah, for a special treat they each are fed a tiny yogurt chewy which they grab through the little cage with their tiny mouths. 
           Did I mention their luxury accommodations?  It’s like a ClubMed for rats!  Three levels of fun, complete with a giant wheel for nighttime running, a little hammock to swing in, a litter box (yes, they’re trained, though apparently Lily has had a few accidents on the upper level)  and three bowls with their various culinary delights. We close it all up, and then we’re done for the night. 
          What’s in it for me?  I get to watch my daughter take responsibility for these little animals and enjoy them, and, oh, did I mention there’s a pool in the backyard of the house for us to use?

For life is what you make it.  So make it good!

My Dear Aunt

Swallowtail butterflies love the flowers on my lantana bushes!

       




        My father called me this past New Year’s Eve, just as I was leaving for a party, and told me that my aunt had overdosed on medication and died the night before.

        Of course, I was shocked, but the cause of her death didn’t totally surprise me. She had tried to take her life some years ago but was saved in time by her son who called and knew there might be trouble when she didn’t answer. My aunt was my dad’s youngest sister at 69. She was living in a small apartment in a tall building for low-income residents. She had claimed disability most of her adult life for her depression and anxiety, which led to an inability to handle much responsibility. It was always so unfortunate, because she was such a fun person with a pretty face, and she seemed intelligent to me. I know that she used to do some volunteer work and at one time was very involved with her church, but yet she continually struggled. She had two adult sons – my cousins – one who is raising a family in Iowa, and the other still single and working in Minneapolis.
        My dad sent me a copy of the note she left for her siblings, which said that she loved them and that “she was happy that she would be with Jesus now,” which honestly threw me for a loop. I expected her to sound very distressed and upset. I called my dad after reading it, and cried. Not only was I grieving her decision, but it hit home because I have struggled with periods of clinical depression throughout my life. In fact, my aunt was aware of that, and we had kept in contact at birthdays and Christmas more recently as special friends.
        My dad reminded me that she was not well when she wrote that note and that I had to take into consideration that she had led a much more limited life than I had. My mom reminded me that although she was a good person, she had also made some bad and irresponsible choices throughout her life.
        Ironically, in processing all of this, I began to feel grateful for how my journey has turned out. Although I struggled emotionally throughout high school and college, I kept with the program, keeping my grades up and trying to be responsible for my actions and my choices. When I finally sought treatment, God gave me a competent doctor that has cared about me and worked with me for most of my life (and I hope she never retires!). God has also blessed me with a fabulous, supportive husband and amazing little girl. I’ve had a career that has fulfilled and challenged me. And, I’ve had the good fortune to be depression-free throughout most of it.
       Our lives have been very different. This doesn’t mean that I’m a “better”person than my aunt – that’s not the point – it’s just that she had the journey she did, and I have mine. And I know that she is at peace now, in the arms of Jesus.

For life is what you make it.  So make it good!