Last summer we had copious quantities of tomatoes from our CSA.  I’m sure those of you with gardens will understand that dilemma.  What to do with them?  I ended up roasting some in the oven with garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, puree the whole thing and stuck it in the freezer.  Just so I could make this yummy dish many months later.

Wine pairing: A nice Cabernet Sauvignon will work.  We drank it with a 2006 J. Lohr Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon that Brian was gifted with for working lots of hours.

Recipe:

3 smoked country sausages, sliced thin
1 red pepper, minced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jar marinated artichokes, chopped
2-3 cups roasted tomato sauce

3/4 package whole wheat organic spaghetti (that makes me feel so healthy!)

Start the water to boil for the spaghetti.  Throw the sausage, pepper and garlic in the pan to saute. No oil is needed as the sausage will add that in.  After it has sauteed about 5 minutes, add in the mushrooms.  Get everything nicely cooked through, and add in the artichokes and the sauce.  Heat up and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile add the pasta to the water and cook up.

Drain the pasta when it is done and add to the sauce (or add the sauce to the pasta depending on your pot size).  Get all the sauce and pasta mixed up well, and serve with some Parmesan and asiago cheese.

Enjoy!

Last week Corey asked if my kids actually ate the stuff I prepare.  Yes, the kids ate most of this, minus the mushrooms.  They don’t always eat the food well, but they are required to at least try everything on their plates.  They always have some fruit that accompanies it, so that helps fill the hole. 

I am not shy about cooking different things and making our kids try them.  They won’t get a broad palate unless they start getting exposure to it.  They ate elk burgers this past week and really liked them, too.  Anya even finished off her whole burger, which rarely happens! 

I am totally used to them telling me that they don’t like something, and that is usually before they even try it!  If they had their way, it would be peanut butter sandwiches or macaroni and cheese (from the blue box!) for dinner every night.  Notgonnahappen!

It is definitely a work in process.  I try not to let it get to me if the kids are telling me the food is disgusting, since Brian generally loves the food I cook.  I know that eventually they will realize how lucky they have it. 😉