On The Menu for today
Maybe it's all my eating issues, but when I am under the weather, I think about food a lot.

I've had what my mom used to call "The Creeping Crud" for about five days now. I'm not really sick, and I'm not at all well. I'm in the twilight zone between. I fight the symptoms with lots of liquid, some cold medicine and sleep.

I also cook more than normal, and that brings me to today's menu. AngryTeen is going to be mad about it (it contains lots of veggies, and she don't like veggies).

I'm making Stewed Tomatoes with Zucchini and Mushrooms over pasta. It's basically a vegetarian spaghetti sauce, thick and hearty with lots of tomatoes, garlic, basil and parsely.

I figure if AngryTeen covers it with enough parmesan cheese, she'll be just fine.

Here's the recipe:

2 cups of vegetable broth (I made my own with onions, celery, carrots, pepper, garlic and potatoes. Put this in a 5-quart Dutch oven with enough water to fill it and bring to a boil. Simmer it for a couple of hours and strain it. I use it about half strength for soups.)

2-4 cups water. (Depends on the size pan used. I use a 5-quart Dutch oven.)

Bring the water/broth to a boil. As it boils, toss in 5 fresh tomatoes for a couple of minutes. Remove the tomatoes and plunge them into cold water. This will take off the skins.

Turn down the heat on the boiling water. As the tomatoes cool, chop up 1/2 of a small onion and add it to the pan. At this time, also add 1 or 2 cloves of garlic. (The sauce will smell pretty strong for a while, but the zucchini we're adding later will absorb most of that, so don't be scared.)

Add 1 tbsp each of parsely and basil. If the water is still boiling, bring down the heat. We want it to simmer, not boil.

By now, the tomatoes should be cool enough to work with. Remove the skin and crush up the tomato, leaving some good-sized chunks. Add the tomatoes to the pan of broth.

Do I need to remind you to stir the sauce? Use a wooden spoon, and stir it up. This is the time to start figuring out how to make this recipe your own. If you like a thinner sauce, add some veggie broth, canned tomato sauce, white wine, or water. If you want your sauce to thicken, turn the heat up a little and reduce it a bit. You might also want to add some spice to it.

I used 1/2 t oregano and about two shakes of cumin. And pepper to taste. I like pepper, and I probably add more than you would. Taste it, roll your eyes and announce to the world how good it is, and then add enough pepper for your personal taste.

And for Pete's sake, use a clean spoon every time you taste the sauce.

Let this stuff simmer for a while while you chop up some zucchini and mushrooms.

I used 2 cups of diced zucchini, and 8 ounces of fresh mushrooms. Most of the time, canned mushrooms work just fine, but I use fresh with this because I like texture.

This sauce can be in a crock pot for a while, but you have to keep it on low. This is also a base for my minestrone soup. Instead of zucchini, I add 1 cup each of beans and chunks of beef. And I'll also toss in about a cup of beef broth. (Or two cups of broth, depending on how thin the sauce is.)

For the pasta, I am using egg noodles tossed with a little olive oil and parmesan cheese.