Drew Cutter wrote:

> Steve Calvin wrote:
>> Drew Cutter wrote:
>>> What do you cook the spaghetti sauce / pasta in ? Any special type of
>>> tomato ? I'm guessing the pealing of tomato is by hand ? What do you
>>> recommend for chopping the herbs ?
>>
>> First off, I tried to have an open mind and give you an honest answer
>> but given these questions and especially the top posting, I'm starting
>> to smell troll.
>>
>>
> Not a troll. I want to plant a garden for making pasta
sauce. I'm newbie
> to this. Trying to save a few bucks on things i enjoy
eating. I did find
> a site by hormel that enlighten me about some different
cheeses to use.
>

ok, benefit of the doubt given but still slightly wary...

Most sauces are done with plum tomatoes as they are
typically meaty. Not a requirement though.

To skin 'em, get a pot of water boiling and cut an "x" in
the bottom of them, just through the skin. Put 'em in the
water for only about 20 seconds or so and then dump them in
an ice bath (just water and ice). The skin will separate
slightly from the skin and they peel very easily.

Cut 'em in half and squeeze the seed out if you want to (I
usually don't but some people get bothered by them)

Then just dice them up a bit and put 'em over a low heat in
a non-aluminum pot and cook them covered over a medium-low
heat.

Add onions, garlic, basis, oregano, salt & pepper to your
tastes. Taste it often. The taste will change over time. Add
stuff as you think it would taste better to you. It's not a
science, more of a task of figuring out what tastes good to
you.

Chopping herbs? Well, for basil I roll it up tightly (10
leaves or so) like a cigar and cut slivers of it from one
end of the "cigar" to the other. There's a fancy french term
for that but it's not really necessary to know. ;-)

Bottom line? It's not rocket science. Jump in with both feet
and see what you like and what you don't.

There have been times when I made something and it sucked.
Keep at it and you'll figure out the flavors you like and
don't.

I'm not good with exact recipes as I just look in the
cabinets, 'fridge, freezer, etc and just kind of throw
things together.

Use fresh garlic and herbs if at all possible. (I grow my own).

As I said earlier, just jump in ant try it. You learn the
most by your mistakes. Always have a backup plan for
dinner when you're experimenting. ;-D


--
Steve
http://adirondackoutdoors.forumcircle.com