GRANPA MAKES HOMEMADE PASTA FOR THE FAMILY

I like to help my daughters with food items. So yesterday, I made a hardy ragu sauce and homemade egg noodle-homemade pasta to some. The pasta can be eaten fresh or frozen for a quick meal. I gave my daughter Sonya two containers of the sauce to help her with her current situation- expecting baby number 3!
Of course Barb and I had a nice plate of the pasta and sauce along with a big salad for Saturday night dinner.
The picture shows a good platter of pasta-fettucine and meat balls/ragu sauce. In the background is a bowl of fresh pasta with a hearty seafood sauce. This was part of a Christmas Eve meal 2011.
Homemade is best!
#homemadepasta#noodlesbyhand#helpingthedaughterscook#fettucineandmeatballs#pastaagoodpartofthemeal

A THANKSGIVING DESSERT TABLE 2013

After a Thanksgiving dinner that Barb made that included-are you ready- a large turkey stuffed with bread stuffing, Italian sausages, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, broccoli, carrots, 2 types of squash-butternut and acorn, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, anise and turkey gravy to put on your items of choice along with dinner rolls and butter as well as white or red wine or another bottle of beer or water or diet pepsi for drinks came the Dessert table!

My girls made some of the desserts-Natasha made these delightful squares.

Sonya and her boys made these carrot cupcakes decorated with candies. The table was rounded off with the traditional pumpkin pie and whipped cream, apple pie, candies and a platter of fruit which included pineapple, cantaloupe, pomegrante, red and green grapes.
The kitchen table had fresh whole macintosh apples for anyone who was interested. Coffee and tea were offered along with a dessert wine from Caroline Cellars in Niagara saved from one of our summer trips for this occasion.
Like many Canadians celebrating Thanksgiving weekend there will be lots of leftovers for the next week! Back to my diet!

GRANPA PREPARES FOR A CANADIAN THANKSGIVING

Barb has been preparing for our Thanksgiving feast next weekend. Fresh apples and squash from a little farm on Bathurst Street called Front Steps Farm yielded her bounty. The cranberries are from Sobeys. This cook was a little lazy and stayed home. The turkey and the bread for the stuffing are in the freezer. I will buy the other fresh veggies like rapini, brocoli, ainse and little mini carotts for the grandchildren later this week. The girls usually bring some baked goods-usually one item will be apple pie-my favourite. Barb does the majority of the cooking for Thanksgiving-this cook gets a break!

BRUSCHETTA USES UP SOME GARDEN TOMATOES

Still picking lots of tomatoes from the garden. Without a frost, they are still going strong. Since we are celebrating our son-in-law's birthday today, I will be  making a large dish of Bruschetta from some of these delicious ones.
Quite simple to make.

Dice the tomatoes.
Add some olive oil and diced garlic cloves- 2-3.
Add some oregano to taste.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Mix together well.
It can be eaten right away or put in the fridge to rest for an hour or two.
On melba toast, fresh Italian bread or a cracker of choice, bruschetta always makes an easy appetizer.

Now what to do with the rest of the tomatoes!
#tomatoes#bruschettamadewithfreshtomatoes#pickingfreshtomatoes#oliveoil#dicedgarliccloves

GRANPA'S HEALTHY BEANS!

My sweet grandson, Damiano loves granpa's healthy beans. This year my garden has been full of these pole beans so there have been lots of meals with this delight. Last week Barb and I babysat him and his big sister. They had some penne with meat sauce and were eating it. When Barb brought the dish of beans-a little olive oil, some garlic, salt, pepper to taste-, Damiano's eyes lit up! Granpa's healthy beans saved the day!

GRANPA USES STORE BOUGHT PASSATA

After reading an article in The Toronto Sun today where a Canadian of Italian descent glorified the making of pomodoro di passata or as he called it- tomato sauce, I thought about why I do not care to make it anymore. Up until the fall of 1997, I would help my mother make it. After she passed away, it was just too much to expect to continue the tradition. For those Italian-Canadians that make pasta with red sauce every day, it might be necessary. Since our meals include not only Italian dishes but Canadian and others, 500 bottles of pomodoro di passata are not necessary. I remember well the years my mother would complain about the bottles- the sauce was too runny; the tomatoes had too much acid; the tomato crop was not a good one; the tomatoes were too small- well you get the picture. There are many good brands that have the right texture and flavour without the work. One of the guys from the club said his stall on Weston Road sold over 10,000 bushels of tomatoes so many people are still cleaning, chopping, cooking and straining the tomatoes for their own homemade passata! For this Italian cook, I smile and achieve very good homemade sauce with the store bottles!
#storeboughtspassata#granpalovestocook#pomodorodipassata#passataforthesauce#usingagoodbrandforthesauce#theWoodbridgecrowd

SUNDAY A BUSY DAY FOR THE COOK!

A busy Sunday making a chicken broth for Barb who has a cold and can do with the soup. A hearty meat sauce/sugo for the week is simmering on the stove. I will share with my two busy working daughters. Of course more healthy beans from the garden are ready to be cooked. One of my little grandsons loves granpa's healthy beans as he calls them. So far the garden continues to produce. An eggplant or two has been added to one of my weekend veggie mixes. The smell of the soup and sauce has made our home smell good!