Friday Food Day: On Spaghetti

I recently tried a new spaghetti sauce recipe, and I am so in love that I have to share it with you. Eric thought it was amazing and super delicious, and I was happy because it was delicious but also easy, fast, and relatively frugal. See, I'm really trying to streamline our grocery spending lately. It's not easy to do when you're picky about what your family will eat. Everyone knows that hamburger helper is cheap (not that we ever actually eat that... it's just a good scapegoat for all over processed food). In fact, the dollar menu at McDonald's is a really cheap way to feed a family too. But, healthy it is not! Last weekend we watched the movie Food Inc., which is a documentary about how food is made in our country. Unsettling, and it really has me reexamining what I'm willing to pay for and put on our table. One thing that I took away from the movie is how much government choices influence the food production industry. I've decided to use my consumer power and cast my votes with my grocery bill. Hopefully, if more people do this in a thoughtful and informed manner, things could really change!

But this post was supposed to be about spaghetti, wasn't it?

So, another reason that I love this spaghetti sauce recipe is because it isn't a jar of Prego or Ragu or whatever. Though, Prego and Ragu are cheaper than this recipe when they're on sale, this is much better for you, and a little closer to the way food used to be done. If it tastes like anything from a jar, it would be the four and five dollar jars in the grocery isle that I don't even look at!

Here it is, delicious, easy SPAGHETTI SAUCE

1 T. oil (I use olive oil)

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, pressed (I use four)

28 oz. canned tomatoes, diced (do not drain)

6 oz. can tomato paste

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

3 T. Italian Seasoning

1 T. sugar (I used raw cane sugar)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and saute for 2-3 minutes or until the garlic is golden brown. Add the remaining ingredients, and stir to mix. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. If it thickens too much for your taste, add up to 1/2 c. water.

Makes almost 5 cups (6 servings)

While I'm on a bit of a soapbox about food, let me tell you about my favorite spaghetti noodles. Tinkyada brown rice pasta has been our thing for the past year or so. I love it because it has pretty decent texture for an alternative to durum pasta. I originally started buying it because of my conviction about grains needing to be soaked or sprouted to be healthier for you. Since rice is the only exception to this, brown rice pasta seemed the way to go. I can truly say that this pasta is good nutrition. I order it in bulk through a buying coop, so I don't spend any more for it than I would for whole wheat pasta at the grocery store.

So, to summarize: I love this new spaghetti sauce and I think it goes great with Tinkyada spaghetti noodles. Give it a try!