Category: food

My mom’s a great cook. Growing up we ate a lot of Korean food but she also cooked some American standbys like sloppy-joes and spaghetti. I knew I’m biased, but I’ve always really liked her spaghetti sauce. I have no idea how authentic it is as Italian food goes, but it’s chunky and substantial and full of vegetable and meaty goodness.

The vegetables and meat before the tomatoes are added.

The recipe as I’m including it here makes enough to feed 20+ people. Earlier this week I made a batch of this sauce to take over to a couple families that just had new babies (FOUR babies were born in my ward, or church congregation, in the last three weeks. Crazy!) Even after giving away most of it we still had enough left over for our own dinner and probably two more meals of leftovers.

So basically what I’m saying is that you should halve this recipe unless you have to feed an army (or want to have enough frozen sauce to fill half your freezer).

Recipe: Faith’s Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 2 29-oz. cans tomato sauce
• 2 12-oz. cans tomato paste
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 2 yellow onions, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 lb. mushrooms, finely chopped
• 3 stalks of celery, finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2-3 tablespoons of oregano
• 1/2 t. basil
• 1/2 t. thyme
• 1 t. salt or more to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions

1. Brown beef; drain off grease.
2. Add onion, red and green peppers, mushrooms and celery. Saute, stirring, until softened.
3. Add garlic and salt.
4. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, and spices and sugar. Adjust seasonings to taste.
5. Stirring, bring to a boil. Then cover and simmer on med-low or low heat for 30-40 minutes. (Sauce will be very thick; make sure it’s not burning on the bottom. You can add a little water if you want to thin it out.)
6. Serve over pasta; preferably with some garlic bread for sopping up any leftover saucy goodness.

Last night some friends from work came for a little dinner/knitting party. I made teriyaki chicken and served it with rice, kimchi, and salad. I love this teriyaki chicken recipe: it’s super easy.

Both of these recipes are from my awesome Japanese neighbor Yuki, who generously loaned me a cup of soy sauce last night when I ran out! The teriyaki recipe is definitely a keeper for us: it’s free of E’s food allergens and he loves it.

Teriyaki chicken

• 1/2 C. brown sugar
• 1 1/2 C. water
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 3 cloves minced/pressed garlic
• 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 3/4 C. chopped green onion + extra for garnish
• 3/4 C. soy sauce
• 4 lb chicken thighs (remove skin and fat)

In a large pot, mix all ingredients except for chicken and green onions for garnish over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Add chicken, bring to a boil, cover, then lower heat to about medium. Cook until done, stirring occasionally, about 45 min to an hour. Place chicken on a platter and garnish with extra green onions. (Don’t forget to serve the gravy from the pot on the side, it’s great over rice!)

Asian Sesame Dressing

• 1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 of a carrot, chopped,
• 1 small clove of garlic
• 30 gram (4 1/2 of Tbsp) – sesame seeds
• 50 gram (4 1/2 of Tbsp) – white sugar
• 350 ml – vegetable oil
• 100 ml – rice vinegar
• 130 ml – soy sauce

Blend together in a blender for a couple of minutes until smooth and then strain and discard the pulp. Will keep in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. (This recipe makes a whole blenderful; you’ll probably want to halve it.)

I am trying to be a better cook. During the week N and I take turns cooking dinner. N is by far the better cook and can whip up a Thai curry or coconut chicken soup in no time and without a recipe. I, on the other hand, am totally helpless without a recipe and often fall back on serving meals that include a pre-made component from Costco. (Have you tried their carnitas? SO good in burritos or tacos.) Anyway, I really need to raise my game.

I am trying to build a reliable repertoire of meals and have lately been trying my hand at pot roasts. I know, I know, they’re notoriously easy but two out of the three I’ve made in the last few months have been dry and pretty tough. I was complaining about my pot roast failures to my sister-in-law Mindy (who is one of the best cooks I know) and she said she would send me a recipe she likes to use.

Last night I cooked the pot roast recipe she gave me and it was great! It was flavorful, tender, and moist. I served it along with its vegetables and baked sweet potatoes. I really recommend this recipe. It’s by Tyler Florence from the Food Network. It’s online here and I’m also including it below.

• 1 (3 to 4 pound) piece beef chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup water
• 2 red onions, halved
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 8 carrots, sliced
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• 1 cup button mushrooms, stems removed
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves

Season all sides of the beef with a fair amount of salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot that has a tight cover; heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over moderately high heat. Brown the meat on all sides, taking the time to get a nice crust on the outside. Pour in the tomatoes and the water. Scatter the vegetables and herbs around the pot roast, season with salt and pepper; and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Braise for about 3 hours, basting every 30 minutes with the pan juices, until the beef is fork tender.

Slice the pot roast and arrange on platter surrounded by the vegetables. Serve with the pot juices.

Enjoy!