DAY 64 - ARRABIATA MADNESS...

I think Tomatoes are the sexiest vegetable on earth, I love tomatoes..
I love Tomatoes on stalks, just think they really look too darn pretty...
To me they come as close as the daisies I love...
Err OK not really but I love tomatoes...
They are juicy, look pretty and add the right enough of punch to any dish...
Tomatoes are like a beautiful 'Smile'..
Just like the song says "you are never fully dressed without a smile, '
I feel that no dish is complete without the dash of the saucy sexiness of a tomato ..
Yup that's my theory and I'm sticking to it ...

I so want to one day be at the 'Tomatina' festival in Barcelona, last year, missed it by a week...
Its like Holi that I completely love , but completely organic... ha ha ha ...

I also want to go and crush grapes with my feet in a winery in Italy..
this is something I have always wanted to do ...
Or then in Nasik...
Guess thats closer to home..
and will do one day, before I die..

I also want to climb Machu Pichu and in my head making intricate plans of how I'm going to , leave my kids in Dallas fly to Peru and trek up to Machu Pichu...

That's the most amazing thing about my amazing travel plans...
I love it that I can close my eyes and just travel.....
I travel a lot in my head...

Now just need to pack my bags and take off for real.

Travel brings me to the other love of my life...

FOOD...

I love good food, I love to eat good food, and I love to make food and watch my friends eat the food I cook...
Nothing makes me feel happier..
Well ha ha ha well someone does..but I'm not telling you...
I could live on love and fresh air and salad and his smile ...ha ha ha ...
Gotcha..HA HA HA ...

Right now , let me just share with you this yummy recipe of this really lip-smacking Arrabiata sauce I made a few days ago..
That I loved ,as much as I love my Pesto ...

Ingredients

1 kg tomatoes..
2 onion's chopped
1/2 cup olive oil..
8 cloves of garlic..
chili flakes according to your taste
Freshly ground pepper..
1/2 cup dry white wine..
Basil..a hand full

Method..
Before you start cooking any thing Italian...
This is something I do, I put on some ,Andrea Bocelli..
Then put on my Tante Marie apron, open my Chef knives..
Close my eyes for a bit and just transport myself to Tuscany and then just go for it...
Always keep a bottle of wine in the vicinity, whether the recipe call for it or not ha ha ha

NOW..
Bring water to boil and add the tomatoes to it , for just about 5 to 10 minutes, so that you can peel the skin off ..
so that all you have is the pulp , that you will add later to the recipe...

In a non-stick pan, add the oil and heat it..
Add the onion and garlic to it...
Let the sizzle and the aroma take over your kitchen..
Let the onion get nice and transparent...
Add the chili flakes... and take care not to burn them ..

I did not have dry wine , but had some really tasty white wine , it was a bit sweet but I still used it.
Add the wine to it and reduce it...
Now add the tomatoes , which you can add whole or then just roughly chop, its nicer when they are just left...
I also added a few sun dried tomatoes and about 200 ml of tomato puree even though it was not in the recipe..

Added a dash of Tabasco and a dash of Worcestershire sauce...
Add salt to taste..
Boil this till, its all a nice thick tasty gravy..
If you feel you need some extra juice..
What I did was in a separate pan I poured the same white wine and some water reduced it a bit and added it to the sauce..
And last but not the least a teaspoon of sugar..

Then when it was all done...
I added a handful of fresh Basil..

Well nothing completes an Italian dish like Basil..
I can safely say it is my favorite herb..

Then I added this very freshly made Arrabiata sauce with some pre-boiled pasta and a whole lot of sauteed vegetables...

Frankly , it was just "Oh so deeeeeelicious"...
Really simple to make , but the freshness of the tomatoes with the tartness of the wine and the sweet fragrance of the basil...
Is something ,that is just too irresistible...
And so proceeded to pour myself a glass of white wine, and while Andrea Bocelli serenade me with his deep sexy voice, I bit into a morsel of the goodness of ripe tomatoes ...
Al I can say is that it was finger licking, lip-smacking good...the fresh sauce and the crunchiness of the vegetables and the softness of the penne , just melt into your taste buds...

Well I was already sitting in a gondola and travelling down the water ways in Venice, and was being serenaded by this beautiful man and his guitar...ha ha ha ..
Well you cant stop a girl from dreaming or EATING..

So here's presenting fresh aromatic, "Arrabiata Madness"..Hot, and yummy only from "Maria's Kitchen'