life-changing tomato sauce

I am of the opinion that if you have a good tomato sauce recipe in your repertoire, you are well on your way to becoming a decent home cook. If you have mastered that, after all, you can make winning pastas and lasagnas and pizzas and all manner of sloppy sandwiches. Moreover, you have glimpsed the reality that all things are possible.

This recipe is the first tomato sauce I ever tried and also happens to be the best.

There is nothing in the world like the smell of garlic sizzling in olive oil, and, minutes later, the taste of a rich, hearty tomato sauce. It’s the epitome of comfort.

Also: enormously handy in a pinch. When I am on a budget, I make this sauce. When I get home from work at nine o’clock, famished, and have nothing in the fridge, I make this sauce. When I have friends coming over for dinner on a weeknight (what was I thinking?), I make this sauce. I wouldn’t even dream of ordering takeout. Why would I?

This recipe is happily available online, and I have taken to recommending it to people frequently. I can’t tell you how many have made their first forays in the kitchen with it. I converted all of my non-cooking family and friends – and then I was forced to branch out. 

Recently I was getting my face made up when I sung its praises to the makeup artist, who until then had only ever used jarred sauces. The next time that I arrived in her chair, she greeted me with an enormous hug and raved about how the sauce had changed her life. Then she took extra long on my makeup. So you'd be surprised what a humble little tomato sauce can do for you.

Magic Tomato Sauce

Adapted from David Rocco's Dolce Vita (one of my fave cookbooks)

Serves 4

3 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, put through garlic press

pinch of chili flakes

796 ml can of roma tomatoes (no extra seasoning)

salt, to taste

1. Rinse tomatoes under water to get rid of seeds. Place in bowl with juice. Break up tomatoes with your hands. Set aside.

2. Pour olive oil into frying pan and add garlic and chili flakes. Heat over medium heat until garlic is fragrant but not browned.

3. Add tomatoes. Simmer and allow to reduce for 20-30 minutes, depending on the consistency you like.

4. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over pasta of your choosing.

Note: this recipe is a wonderful foundation for all sorts of pasta dishes. Feel free to add grated Parmesan cheese, cracked black pepper, chopped basil or Italian flat-leaf parsley, capers, black olives or even walnuts.

what to eat when you've eaten too much

Sometimes in life, we need to press the reset button. Picture this: you've let yourself get too busy. Desperate for fuel, you begin treating yourself to an endless parade of sweets. Before you know it, this approach has extended to your meals. Cheese on everything! Extra bread! Another round of soda! Attempting to curb your enthusiasm (and perhaps save some precious time), you do away with dinner altogether, but wind up eating bags of chips on the run and calling that a meal. Vegetables become a distant memory; you can't imagine why you ever wanted them. Then one day you realize that you feel tired all the time and you have to strain to zip up your beloved Little Black Dress. You all know how it goes. 

Here's the thing: I happen to have a strategy for times like this. And I'd like to share it with you. When I find my eating out of balance, I face facts, muster up all of my determination, set aside a few days – free from social obligations – and commit to reseting my palate. Sometimes I limit myself to fruits, vegetables, chicken and fish. Other times, I eat vegan. In the winter, I go on a vegetable soup kick. In the summer, it's all about salads. The point is to cut out all of the junk and learn to enjoy real food again.

My current M.O. is the brown rice bowl. As far as I'm concerned, it's pure genius. Clean food – and so satisfying. The key is to make it really simple for yourself. At the beginning of the week, I make a giant pot of rice, grate some beets and buy a bag of grated carrots and cabbage from Whole Foods. I have green onions on hand, and avocados and a little lemon to squeeze on top. I make the sauce (which sounds ultra-complicated, but actually isn't once you've made the herb blend) and viola: dinner for days. I'm back to feeling like myself again in no time flat. You will be too.


Back to basics brown rice bowl
Inspired by the latest cookbook from Fresh restaurant
Serves one

1/2 cup of cooked brown rice
grated beets
grated carrots
grated white cabbage
grated purple cabbage
avocado, chopped
package of extra firm tofu, cubed
green onions, thinly sliced
squeeze of lemon
drizzle of sauce, to taste

Place warm or room temperature rice on a plate. Pile on the beets, carrots, cabbage and avocado and tofu. Sprinkle with green onions and drizzle with lemon. Pour sauce on top.

Sauce
Adapted from the latest cookbook from Fresh restaurant
Makes about 1/2 cup

Whisk together: 

1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons tamari
scant 1 teaspoon mixed herbs

Mixed herbs
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried dill
1 tablespoon dried dill
1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary
1/2 tablespoon dried tarragon