Marinara Sauce

Ever since we came back from Italy in July, my daughter and I have been craving for spaghetti with marinara sauce. I just can't seem to copy the same flavor or texture of the sauce in Italy. It must be the type of tomatoes they use over there. I looked all over town and couldn't find any imported cans of tomatoes for sale; Trader Joe's does not have it either.

At the end of the meal in Italy, after finishing all the spaghetti, there is always lots of olive oil and sauce left over at the bottom of the plate. I have tried really hard to reproduce the same. Well, here is my version 1.1 today (version 1.0 was 2 weeks ago and it didn't turn out too good):

2 cans of Hunts peeled tomato each 14.5 oz.
4-5 cloves of garlic
1/4 to 1/3 cup of olive oil
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt, pepper
1 tsp sugar

1. Chop up the garlic into little pieces. My kids like the taste of garlic but do not want to bite into a big piece.
2. Slightly brown the garlic in the olive oil over medium heat. In my version 1.0 of the sauce, I over cooked the garlic and it was slightly burnt and it had a funny smell, so don't over cook here.
3. Add the canned tomatoes
4. Add the basil. My fresh basil leaves left over from version 1.0 were kind of welted and I had to use the dried up ones today. (I used a "rounded" 1/2 tsp) The dried up ones turned out ok and it is easier to keep around.
5. Add the oregano. (I used a "rounded" 1/2 tsp)
6. Add some salt (I did two pinches today and it turned out ok) and some pepper.
7. Add the sugar (the tomatoes in Italy tasted sweet, my wife suggested it)
8. I added a little water (1/3 cup) today so the final sauce would not be too sticky.
9. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for 40-60 minutes over low heat. Stir and mash up the tomatoes as it simmers.
10. 1 lb. of spaghetti should be ok for my family of 4. I cooked too much today.
11. One trick I did today was to scoop up the olive oil on top of the sauce pan and add it to each plate first and coat the freshly cooked spaghetti, and then add the sauce later. This way each person would get similar amount of olive oil.

Feedback:

1. The taste was good, almost there.
2. Too little sauce (use 3 cans next time?)
3. Not enough olive oil left over at the bottom of the plate (use 1/2 cup of olive oil next time?)
4. They like the angel hair better than the thin or regular spaghetti
5. not much protein with this meal though
6. need to remember to get some bread

Overall I am happy with the version 1.1. It is getting close to the real thing. Oh, I need to buy the olive oil/ vinegar dispenser thingy. The one that has both oil and vinegar in one glass holder one inside the other.

Sandwich

parents are getting old
sad to see them change so quickly
not much i can do

sad
don't like being in the sandwich

cried by myself today

Edmund H. Sonnenblick, a Pioneer in Treatments for Heart Failure, Dies at 74 - New York Times

Edmund H. Sonnenblick, a Pioneer in Treatments for Heart Failure, Dies at 74 - New York Times

:(

Heimlich

Did my first real life Heimlich yesterday.

Man, I thought she was going to die and it happened so quick. At first I thought she was just waving at me, then I saw her face turning a dark shade of purple.

I am still kind of in shock.

Stir-Fry Nian Gao

Hey don't laugh, I'm not good at writing down recipes.

version 1.0 - 9/4/2007, my first try was not bad. It was a little salty and the Nian Gao could have been cooked a little longer and softer.

version 1.1- 9/5/07, modified by adding some more water to the final step, and took out extra added salt or soy sauce at the end

version 1.2- 9/10/07, pre-soaking the Nian Gao made them softer, increased the chicken to 3 pieces, and re-added the soy sauce at the end, just a little.

version 1.21- 9/18/07, added Chinese cabbage after taking the chickens out. Tried using 1 1/2 bag of the Nian Gao

Procedure:

• buy the Nian Gao that comes frozen or refrigerated and in a vacuum bag
• 1 bag can serve about 3 people. Use 1 1/2 bag to serve 4 with some left overs
• thaw the Nian Gao in cold water, make sure you kind of wash them a little because I found some hard brown stuff stuck to some. The thawing takes around 15 min
• pre-soak them in cold water for 1 to 2 hours
• defrost 3-4 pieces of frozen chicken thigh, microwave on auto defrost setting 3, turn, then auto defrost setting 3 again
• the chicken is still half frozen and easier to cut
• cut up 1 or 2 "stick(s)" of scallion or green onion into small pieces... *ok, there must be an official word for a "stick" of green onion*
• cut the chicken into small strips and marinate in soy sauce
• put some oil in the pan and stir-fry the green onion for a while, then add the chicken, cook until done
• take the chicken out and set aside but leave the juices
• add some Chinese cabbage now- cut them into thin slices
• add the Nian Gao into the pan and stir-fry a while
• add one can of chicken broth
• add another cup of water
• add a little more soy sauce if needed
• cook until the Nian Gao is soft and most of the liquid is gone
• add the chicken back into the pan and cook together for a short time

This is not an official Shanghai Stir-Fry Nian Gao recipe. It is just my version that can be cooked and ready to eat in 90 min. I like my Nian Gao soft since I don't like to chew.

I'm trying this again next week. Wish me luck.

My Ubuntu Box is Working!!

Well, thanks to HP, I now have Ubuntu working nicely with Skype. I was recently tortured mentally by the incompetent HP Tech Support in India for hours on the phone. My bad experience with HP gave me enough motivation to get the Linux box working with Skype.

My blog about my HP encounters are here, and here. I am so glad that the nightmare with HP is over. I promised myself that I will never buy another HP computer system again.

The problem with using the mic for Sound Recorder on Ubuntu is still not solved, however, the mic is working with Skype and that is what I needed anyway. The trick is to select the actual sound card device under options in Skype and not allow Skype to use the "default device." I'll try to upload some screen capture in Linux in another blog.

Sunday Easter Egg: Google Earth's flight simulator | Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone

Note to self: need to try this someday. 

Sunday Easter Egg: Google Earth's flight simulator | Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone