pasketti

today is a double-post day, it seems.  the only reason for that is as i was looking back on my blog posts i found this one.  it had an awesome title, but nothing else in it at all so i had to figure out what i had intended for it to be.  i think that i meant to post my spaghetti sauce recipe.  amd i also need to try and think about what story i had to segue into the recipe.  i did come up with one-probably not the one i had intended to use, but interesting anyway. 

when i was a kid, i hated my mom's spaghetti.  hated it with a passion.  if that was what we were having for dinner, i would do my best to beg and cry for just plain noodles with no sauce please mom please if i eat this i am gonna throw up.  (this never worked, and often resulted in eating spaghetti for a lot of days in a row.)  i came up with a lot of reasons why i couldn't eat it: i didn't like tomatoes, it didn't have meatballs, it was too lumpy, it had too much seasoning, etc, etc, etc.  what i really meant, however, was that it wasn't ragu from a can.  all my other friends ate their spaghetti sauce from a can, and i was the only weirdo who's mom made it from scratch and then froze it in batches to use later.  why couldn't we just be a normal family, for pete's sake? 

this mindset of mine didn't just involve spaghetti sauce, but a whole range of food items from macaroni and cheese to mashed potatoes.  my mom was a health nut before it was cool, and made all these items from scratch to increase nutritional value and to save on cost.  (remember, she was feeding an army.) i didn't understand that when i was eight, and simply pined for boxed mac n cheese and instant potatoes, along with that ragu spaghetti sauce.  i was pretty sure that velveeta was also awesome.  and ya know- if i could just eat normal foods, maybe the cool kids would like me more. 

then my mom got a sams club membership, and found out that easy could be cheap, and the army was getting older and eating vast quantities of food, so she started buying the easy stuff.  and for a while, i was in heaven.  but then, slowly but surely, i started missing the good stuff.  i missed spaghetti. and two years later, when i was sixteen, i started to take over cooking the family meals.  and this was the first recipe i asked for.  because there's nothing as wonderful as a homemade spaghetti sauce.  it just took me a while to realise it. 

mom's spaghetti sauce (with only a couple of modifications... a la me.)

2 lbs italian sausage
1 med. onion, diced
6-8 garlic cloves, diced
1 very large can diced tomatoes
2 small cans tomato paste (8oz or 1 16 oz)
Basil- fresh if you can, but dried works well too
Oregano- see above
Red pepper flake
Salt and pepper
Sugar

brown the sausage together with the onion and garlic.  when everything is browned and softened, add in the tomatoes.  then take the cans the tomatoes came in, and fill them all with water.  add in the water!  (it's so nice that that's all the measuring i do.)  mix it all up, and then add the seasonings.  i usually add the basil and oregano at a 1:1 ratio, about a tablespoon of each.  i think.  add red pepper flake to taste, or don't add it at all.  we like it spicey, so we even get the hot italian sausage.  it's your preference, though.  add about 2 teaspoons of suge- this gets rid of the acidic harshness of the tomatoes.  and don't forget about the salt and pepper.  then bring to a very low simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 2-3 hours.  yup.  it's a long time.  i do this in the crockpot sometimes, but if you do that cut the water in half.  when it thickens, it's ready.  it's even better if you cook it the night before, cool it in the fridge, and reheat it.  it also freezes well and is very easy to double, triple, or whatever you can fit in your biggest pot. 

bittersweet

hi there my ducklings.  again, I have to apologise for not writing for so long.  it has been a difficult and strange couple of months.  there has been more than my fair share or sadness and stress, but then again there has been so much joy.  hard adventures have turned into happiness, and stressful situations are now exciting.  i know that i am being pretty vague, but i have to be.  all i can say is that i have cried along with close friends and laughed with them too.  i've worried and stressed about my life situations, only to have them turn out wonderfully.  i got to visit an incredibly beautiful place for a really hard reason.  and yet, like all things, the sun has come out, trees are green, and summer is coming.  i am so happy today, the sky is blue, and the birds are singing.  but....

i found out happy/sad news this wednesday.  happy- beacuse i have a new job!!!  i finally have been promoted to a higher position with the library district, and i couldn't be more thrilled.  i will be doing things i love- working with kids and teens, serving the public by helping with reference questions, and hopefully getting to use my spanish skills to help the community.  it doesn't hurt that it pays more, either- and i am not driving an hundred and fifty miles (yup, that's what i have been doing) every day.  i am excited.  but i found out this wednesday (two days ago) and will be starting my new job on tuesday (six day notice).  which means that today is my last day here.  i haven't even really had time to process what that means. 

i will miss it.  i will miss driving to these beautiful places and coming to these awesome schools.  i will miss my kids- especially the one i'm teaching to knit, and who i help with finding all the classics on her reading list.  i will miss gossiping with teachers and community members who stop in for a book and a chat.  i will miss kindergarten hugs.  i will not miss the middleschoolers all that much, but such is the nature of the age.  i was thinking this morning as i was driving to the mountains, "this is the last time!  how can this be the last time i drive here and see this amazing place?" 

honestly, i shouldn't be so sad- this would have been my last day for the summer anyway, as the school is undergoing construction and we wouldn't have been in there anyway.  i was going to be doing storytimes though, and one of my awesome coworkers has volunteered to do them.  i know my kiddos will be in good hands.  i just hope that i will be able to drive out just once and see them again.  i'll have to make a point of visiting. 

bittersweet.  that has been my life this spring.  as much as i look forward to my future, i am sad about what i am leaving.  it's a hard thing, this change.  i will be happy- all the way happy- soon.  and hopefully, it will mean that i am back to writing about my silly life, the food i make, and the things i knit.  i have missed it.