I used to not like staying in the kitchen. The only business I do in the kitchen is to wash the dishes. My first job was a dishwasher in a local eatery. I could have gotten pointers from my boss on how to cook the best tapsilog but my interests really never tapped into cooking back then. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. I took that saying quite literally. And after all the disastrous attempts I had at cooking during my youth, I gave up on cooking. That burnt boiled egg really did a number on my ego.
Yet, here I am today, sharing my latest adventure in the kitchen. I have two critiques now whose opinions really matters a lot to me, my daughter and my husband. My daughter calls me the best chef in the world and my husband takes joy in requesting random dishes on any random day. I don't always live up to their expectations but they love me so much to always tell me if the food I served was good or not. And I love them for that. And my cooking skills have grown because of that.
This recipe I am about to share was prepared for our 6th wedding anniversary celebration. My husband requested for spaghetti in marinara sauce. Thanks to my watching Top Chef on Netflix, I figured out a complete meal needs to have protein, so I added meatballs.
This was supposed to be simple, easy, and quick but then I couldn't find canned tomatoes at the grocery so I had to make the marinara sauce from scratch.
This recipe is composed of three things: the pasta, the sauce, and the meatballs. For the pasta, since I'm not yet into the kneading, and pulling, and slicing part of pasta making, I bought ready to cook pasta. Boil for 8-10 minutes, set aside, and move on to the next part of the dish.
The sauce. I boiled half a kilo of tomatoes for at least 45 minutes. I wanted them super soft and easy to mash. This was the first time I did this and I found out that tomatoes can easily be peeled off once they're really soft after being boiled for a very long time. I took the time to prep the meatballs while waiting for the tomatoes to cook. Really, multitasking is a motherhood skill. We'll get to the meatballs later.
Once the tomatoes are soft, drop them into iced water so you won't get hurt when trying to peel the skin off. And while the tomatoes were boiling, I also sliced and minced some garlic and onions. I love garlic so I added so much more garlic into this sauce.
To cook the sauce, sautee the garlic, and then the onions. My husband and I always argue whether to put onions or garlic first. I say garlic, he says onions. I guess we'll never know which one should really be put first but since I'm cooking, garlic goes first. Who wouldn't want golden lightly roasted garlic on their spaghetti, right?
And so, once the argument on what goes first is over, and the onions have caramelized, add the peeled tomatoes. This is the first time I'm making marinara sauce and I was not sure what to do with the seeds but they got in there, so in they go. Just squeeze the tomatoes with the spatula against the pot until the tomatoes are no longer recognizable. I did not use that much salt in there but I added some malunggay powder. I always add malunggay powder to all our food whenever I have the chance. Just let it simmer, check if it tastes good, add salt if necessary and that's good enough.
You can actually serve this at this point. I just went for the meatballs just because. To prepare the meatballs, I used half a kilo of ground pork, 1 carrot(chopped finely), 1 onion, garlic (both minced finely), 1 egg, salt and pepper, a little bit of sugar, and malunggay powder. Just mix everything thoroughly. Put in the fridge for about 20 minutes or so. You can also prepare this beforehand so the flavors will incorporate into the pork. Scoop 1 tablespoon of the mixed ingredients and form into a ball. I was able to let it set in the fridge while I was waiting for the tomatoes to boil. Just fry the meatballs and they're ready.
For this particular meal, I went ahead and fried the meatballs on just a little bit of oil, then once they turned golden brown, I put them to the side of the pan and sauteed just a little bit of garlic. I then added the marinara sauce and that's it.
Served the spaghetti with some garlic bread. I'm pretty sure vampires would have been driven away with all the garlic I put in this meal. I just love garlic.
It sure looked like my husband and my daughter enjoyed the meal so I guess I bagged the Best in Spaghetti award on this one.
@romeskie is a full-time stay at home mom juggling homeschooling, crocheting, and homemaking. A Business Administration graduate with a major in Marketing who ended up in the contact center industry, on the frontlines, climbing her way up to Workforce Management where she found her passion in real-time analysis and management. A once self-proclaimed careerwoman who soon realized homemaking was her real calling. Her passion varies from reading, writing, photography, and most of all, crocheting.
Connect with her through her Facebook Page: The Leftie Crocheter and on Instagram. Feel free to subscribe to her Youtube Channel: The Leftie Crocheter
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Sarap tulo laway ko (^_^)
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Best in Spaghetti nga, it looks delicious! Mag spaghetti din ako sa birthday ko. ahihi