Down East Marinated Pasta Sauce

I had quite a number of garden tomatoes which had ripened on my window sill over the past weeks and needed to be used up soon.  I came up with this recipe which turns out to be nearly identical to a discontinued pasta that disappeared off store shelves years ago almost as soon as I had found it.  Thinking how much I paid for that little box compared with the cost to prepare this recipe which feeds my whole family as a main dish amazes me.   I didn’t know better!  Anyway, this dish is healthy, nearly addicting and a great way to use tomatoes particularly during tomato season.  The whole family may appreciate a plate of this; heavy on the noodles for the children and loaded up with marinated tomato goodness for those with a more mature sense of taste.  Most importantly, this dish is easy and inexpensive to make particularly if you grow a garden.  Purchase pasta when it goes on sale for .90 per pound or better yet stock up at .49 per pound.  All other ingredients can be bought in bulk at places like Sam’s Club for a savings.
 
The Recipe:  Down East Marinated Pasta Sauce
6 large ripened tomatoes
1 1/2 TBSP dried basil
1 heaping tsp. minced garlic or two minced cloves
1/2 c. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 pound angel hair
generous sprinkle of black pepper
1 c. shredded mozzarella
*Cut tomatoes up and place in medium size bowl.  Add basil, garlic, olive oil and salt and lightly stir.  Let stand at room temperature for one hour.
*Cook pasta according to directions.  Drain and transfer to a serving bowl or pasta platter. 
*Pour marinated tomatoes over top of pasta.  Sprinkle generously with black pepper and top with mozzarella.  Serve immediately and enjoy.
***  Suggest serving with a tossed green salad, homemade Italian Dressing and a loaf of warm French bread.  Leftovers???  Warm it up and take it with you in a thermos for a quick and delicious packed lunch.

French Style Vegetarian Soup

I love this soup and soup is one of the most inexpensive and filling meals you can make.  Soup has the potential to be one of the healthiest meals to put on your table as well and this recipe is really the best of both worlds.  I tried it when I had more limited ingredients than usual and came up with this great combination of blended spices and vegetables for a large pot of warm and comforting soup.  Perfect for autumn but good anytime.  It yields about 12 generous servings and it will stretch farther if you have young children that don't eat as much... or who might be a little picky!  Serve with biscuits or a loaf of homemade French bread.

French Style Vegetarian Soup

Preparation:  ***Soak 1 generous cup of dried navy beans overnight***

 

 

*2 cups diced potatoes

*2 cups diced onion (substituting minced dried onion for all or part works too)

*2 cups diced carrots (buy in 5 lb. bags at Sam's Club at .25 per pound)

*1 Tbsp. Salt

*2 cups cut green beans (fresh, canned or frozen)

*10 oz. peas (frozen is best, or canned)

*1 cup soaked and rinsed navy beans  (You can use a 16 oz. can of navy beans if you must but dried   beans purchased in bulk is one of the cheapest forms of protein and will keep your costs down.)

*1/2 cup of pasta (broken spaghetti or even a cheese ravioli works well if you happen to have some)

*1 or more slices of stale bread  (a great way to use up those bread heels always in the fridge)

*Pepper to taste

*4 cloves garlic or 1 tsp. garlic powder

*4 sundried tomato slices or freeze dried tomato chunks or 4+ Tbsp. tomato paste

*1 1/2 Tbsp. basil

*1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

*1/2 c. olive oil

 

Fill large pot with 3 quarts of water and add the 1Tbsp. of salt.  Simmer potatoes, onions and carrots in salted water for 45 minutes.  At the same time bring beans to a boil in unsalted water and let simmer for 45 min. to an hour.  Then add beans to the vegetable stock.  (Salted water makes beans tough.  Can be refrigerated at this point but reheat to boiling to continue). 

 

Add green beans, peas and spaghetti.  Crumble in bread.  Season with pepper.  Simmer 15 minutes. 

 

If using dried tomato product, rehydrate with a cup of boiling broth at this point.  Blend garlic, basil and Parmesan with tomato using a blender.  An immersion blender is the best and easiest to use.  Add olive oil a little at a time and blend.  If you have not added a cup of hot broth to your tomato mixture already, do so now and blend. 

 

Pour this tomato blend into the pot of soup and stir thoroughly. 

 

Enjoy!