Mangia, Cara Mia!

Received a happy call from Trish in San Francisco today. She had a wonderful going away party from her old job last week and her new job was going well. Her boyfriend Dave got a new job, too and has been making arrangements to have Trish formally move in with him in the city. Singing gigs for Trish were also coming in. I was thrilled that she was finally living la vida loca again.

I updated Tawny via text that I was declining her invite to her pool party with a couple of our other friends. My sociable mood was nowhere to be resurrected and the rain was off and on all morning. It decided to make its presence very known in the afternoon instead. Luckily, I was able to walk Cabal around and enjoy the lush greenery before the downpour...

I've not bought eggs in several months for two purposes: 1) I don't eat eggs enough to make buying a half dozen or a dozen worth it before it goes bad and 2) It is a deterrent to easily baking pastries and cakes. With the weather, today was a perfect Baking Day and I was compelled to cook something that took time. The next thing I knew I was making Sunday Gravy (as some Italians call it) with meat. Cooking can be a hedonistic activity if approached correctly and I was game today.

I left the canned whole tomatoes mostly in tact instead of crushing them further and added it after browning the lean ground beef in some raw olive oil, onions and lots of pressed garlic. Mincing doesn't extract all the garlic oil goodness. Added tomato paste to deepen the flavor, mixed dried herbs (fresh ones were not an easy option today) and some spices. I left out the wine today.

This was reducing nicely. I adjusted the taste by stirring in some crushed hot pepper. Later the secret ingredient (blowing a kiss!) because it has to be made with Love. Kinda hokey, I know, but that's how this AGOL does it.


Can you tell I am showing my Filipino side in the pic below? If you don't get it, good for me! I like to boil the dry pasta unbroken so that the long strands are kept. It makes it easier to twirl on a big spoon. (Ran out of spaghetti so had to settle for angel hair.) The pasta water must also be well seasoned with sea salt and the pasta cooked al dente. No wimpy strands on my fork.

Sprinkled some grated Romano cheese and more of the crushed hot pepper over this garlicky goodness. Just missing some of my famous garlic bread and a nice glass of Shiraz.


The sun shone again when this was served. The dish was tasty and the good food aroma inside intoxicating. Steam had built up against the sliding glass doors thanks to the condensation from the coolness of my apartment to the steam bath outside. In between bites, I remembered that tomorrow is a holiday.

Mangia, Cara Mia!