Are you there no one ? It's me JeebusFreek ... Today was a non slacking day for me. These ultra productive days come around about twice a month for me. If you are also a slacker you know the type of day I speak of. I call it a golden day and they are usually preceded by days (weeks?!?) of planning to do something and then finally being forced to do it. The feeling of actually completing the task you've been putting off is so empowering that you feel compelled to tackle vanity projects like knitting sweaters and churning butter. Without further adieu here is a list of things I did today:
1. Cleaned my apartment (including folding 6 loads of laundry)
2.Made a menu for the next two weeks
3.Grocery shopped for said menu (at multiple grocery stores for maximum savings)
4.Filed my income taxes
5. prepared my monthly budget and updated my bill pay
6.Made marinara sauce from scratch (recipe to follow)
7. Made a pot roast
8.Made rice crispy treats
9.Watched the entire sixth season of 30 rock
10.Knitted half a shrug I plan on wearing on my vacation
I did all this and am now half drunk and upholding my promise to complete the 30 day challenge. It all felt so easy and I swear everyday is going to be like this and my life is going to be so easy and perfect yada yada yada! et cetera! et cetera! Then the sun will rise tomorrow and I'll convince my self that I need a break because I worked so hard yesterday and the cycle of procrastination will start anew.
I lived in Italy for 4 years as a child I became a sauce snob. My mother got this recipe from Italian woman and it is my go to recipe for sauce
Some Old Italian Lady's Pomodoro Recipe
Ingredients
2 cans crushed tomato (I think Dei Fratelli or Pomi are the best I've tried in the states)
olive oil
1smallor medium head of garlic (6-8 cloves)
1 cube Knorr vegetarian vegetable bullion
about 2.5 teaspoons of salt
Italian parsley to taste
1 wedge of crazy expensive Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Directions: *Inspect your head of garlic before buying and if it has any weird shrinkage, soft spots, or powdery mold reject it* Remove all the normal looking outer cloves of garlic (about 6-8 cloves)leaving the weird shaped skinny cloves for your compost pile. I'm sure these fugly cloves are just as good and you can use them if you're some sort of garlic affirmative action proponent; but for me they're more trouble than they're worth. Make sure to remove all the peels from the choice cloves then cut them lengthwise. If you see a green shoot in the middle of the clove remove the shoot or your sauce will be bitter. Once you have your shoot free garlic pour enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a stockpot about a quarter of an inch. Turn your burner on low and add the garlic to your olive oil once bubbles form around the garlic remove from heat and let sit for two minutes then repeat. Add cans of crushed tomatoes; rinse each can with about a quarter cup of water and add that as well. Add bullion cube. They way I was taught this recipe was to make a cup out of your hand ,like you are going to drink water from a stream, and fill the deepest part with salt and add that to the sauce. I know everyone has a different sized hand so I measured it today and it was about 2.5 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon of salt. Simmer on low until the sauce thickens(1 to 2 hours) it will splatter so if you have a splatter guard USE IT. Stir about every 10-15 mins. This sauce like all spaghetti sauces is better if you prepare a day or two ahead. When you are ready to eat it boil your pasta and use just enough sauce for the pasta you are going to eat immediately add parsley to the portion of sauce you are using and reheat on stove top *do not microwave *garnish with as much cheese as you like and enjoy.
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