Cooking the basics: Homemade Marinara Sauce

Marinara sauce, a classic Italian red sauce with garlic, onions, herbs and not much more, is easy and weeknight quick to make. Recipe—and variations—below.

Homemade Marina Sauce

This post is about breaking old habits and overcoming fears. In our kitchen, both for the blog and for everyday cooking, we try to work with real ingredients as much as possible, not overly processed foods. (We do count certain canned and frozen goods as ingredients—beans, tomatoes and spinach, for instance.) But for some reason, I’ve resisted making my own marinara sauce. Continue reading “Cooking the basics: Homemade Marinara Sauce”

Multicultural mashup: Falafel-crusted Potatoes with Red Sauce

Mashed potato patties are coated with the Middle Eastern staple falafel, baked and served with Italian red sauce. This delicious, versatile meal can be made vegetarian or even vegan with a couple of minor tweaks. Recipe below.

We frequently talk about what inspires our cooking here. Marion actually got the idea for this hearty meal from some finger food. I’ll turn the kitchen over to her to tell you about it.

Last year, at one food-related event we attended, the standout for me was a low-key, earthy vegan dish: Potatoes, cut into discs and coated with falafel. Alongside the dazzling array on the several buffet tables, this dish was almost the country cousin, quiet and shy in its simplicity. But when I remember that evening, this is the only dish I actually recall. There were a lot of other very wonderful things, sophisticated and clever and fun; I distinctly remember saying “Wow, this is great too!” several times, but this homely little presentation really fastened itself into my head. I don’t remember who made it, but I remember it. Continue reading “Multicultural mashup: Falafel-crusted Potatoes with Red Sauce”