buon appetito!
So, as you know, I am car camping in Joshua Tree this weekend, which is apparently a far cry from the Survivor-esque backpacking we did when I was a kid. I remember tramping through the mountains with a 50lb backpack, eating little packages of freeze-dried astronaut food, and spending countless hours packing my tent and sleeping bag into ridiculously tiny waterproof bags. This weekend will be different – a little more civilized, I suspect. I’ve packed my french press, for starters!
Anyways, we designed a menu about a week ago, and everyone was responsible for a few meals. The fare includes corn cakes with preserves, Mia’s dad’s fresh french bread, cherry pie, grilled sausage sandwiches, a full English breakfast spread, and my home-made marinara sauce, below!
I may have mentioned it before, but I have a mild obsession with making pasta sauce. I LOVE pasta sauce. The pasta itself, I could take it or leave it. But a good pasta sauce, just give me a spoon and I’m happy…well, some chianti wouldn’t hurt, either. My sauce is pretty basic, with some exceptions – I like to use heirloom tomatoes, I think they have a richer flavor, and I use a dark brown molasses sugar instead of….well, I don’t know what kind of sugar a traditional marinara has, but I think it has some?
(p.s. I have to apologize for the picture quality, my little kitchen is dark and cave-like, especially at night.)
Emilily, and 
Carmen are discussing.
Carmen 4:42 pm on October 4, 2009 Permalink
This looks delicious! How long do you cook it for?
Emilily 12:35 pm on October 6, 2009 Permalink
You cook it for…ages, and then some. The longer it simmers, the richer it tastes and the better your kitchen smells. But add the caramelized onions at the end, otherwise they turn to mush and overwhelm all the other herbs. Also, I save about half of the basil and toss it in at the very end. (The other herbs I use are italian parsley and oregano, both fresh, and a few generous pinches of red pepper flakes.)