Fresh

One of the most amazing things about Albania was the FRESH produce. Some of the best tomatoes, cucumbers and Watermelon I have had in my life. Along with fresh bread every day. It was amazing.

As I was watering the front garden yesterday I realized my neighbors tomato plant was heavy laden with fruit. I watered the plant and harvested the fruit intending to pass it along to them, hoping for a few myself. Instead they told me I could have 90% of the batch--about 3-4 lbs of tomato! So excited about my harvest I realized my small group was scheduled to have community pizza night the next day. So, I looked online for a "home-made pizza sauce" recipe. The best one I saw just gave some general guidelines... that's my kind of cooking. So here's how it went.


mince garlic... about 6-8 cloves let sit in olive oil and salt while prepping other items
chop/blend tomatoes. I started chopping, but it looked to chunky, so then I blended it all up.
chop/mince basil about a handful

simmer garlic for 2-4 minutes over medium heat in a large pot (big enough for the whole batch)
add a pinch or two of crushed red peppers for some heat (stirring constantly)
drop in tomatoes, turn up the heat and stir occasionally until it reaches a boil.
reduce heat to a simmer and let it reduce
Stir in Oregano, Rosemary, Salt and Pepper
(simmer about 30-45 minutes)

Sorry I don't have more details, it's more an art than a science, and a whole lot more fun that way.

Fun with Food.