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Posts Tagged ‘homemade’

  1. Let The Sun Shine

    July 21, 2015 by admin

    IMG_3141Our new, sun-filled yard has allowed us to rediscover the joys of sun tea- and pass this pleasure on to our kiddos.

    Spending most of the day flooded in sunshine, our backyard is the perfect place for making sun tea!  You can make sun tea in any large glass jar- a throughly washed pickle or olive jar can work quite well.  But we picked up a sun tea jar at our favorite grocery for a few bucks – and it includes a dispenser tap at the bottom.  This way even our youngest can pour himself a glass of tea without difficulty.

    The recipe is simple: fill you jar with cold water and add a few bags of tea.  We use five with our approximately half-gallon jar.  Use more if you like a stronger tea.   You may find different tea flavors require different strengths to turn out the way you like.  Let the tea sit in a bright part of your yard for most of the day- the longer it sits there the stronger it gets.

    Tip:  If it gets too strong, you can water it down with water or ice cubes when you drink it.

    We keep our tea in the fridge and it cools down quickly to just the right temperature.  Add ice as desired.

    Our youngest loves watching the tea darken during the day, and particularly enjoys sampling the fruit flavored teas.  Try it out and find your favorite flavor!


  2. Mmmm, Marinara!

    May 23, 2013 by admin

    IMG_0593

    We love marinara sauce!  We top our pasta with it at least once a week.  We use marinara on homemade pizza and in calzones.  It is our go-to sauce to compliment many meals.  We keep our marinara recipe simple, which also helps in its utility in other dishes, from soups to enchilada sauce.

    By making this sauce ourselves, not only can we tweak it to our own tastes, but we also avoid added or leached chemicals that are frequently found in canned sauces.

    Ingredients:

    • 1 T Olive Oil
    • 1 Medium Sized Onion, Diced
    • 1 T Oregano
    • S&P to taste
    • 1 T Vegetarian Bouillon
    • 8 or so Plum Tomatoes, Rough Chopped
    • 2-4 cups water
    • 2 T Tomato Paste

     

    Process:

    • It couldn’t get much easier!
    • Sauté onions in olive oil along with the herbs, spices and bouillon.
    • When onions are translucent, add the rough-chopped tomatoes and sauté for a few minutes.
    • Add the water, and let simmer for as long as possible- at least an hour.  If your tomatoes are very wet, use the lesser amount of water.  Add water if the sauce looks too dry.  You want it to simmer in order for all the flavors to mingle.
    • Add the paste towards the end of the simmer time.  We make our own paste at home, but there are organic varieties available.
    • Puree the sauce in the food processor—use short pulses for a chunky sauce, longer time for a more smooth texture.

     

    And that’s it!  This recipe yields about three cups of sauce.  Don’t forget to freeze the leftovers for next time!