Ok. I'm definitely a disaster in the kitchen. But I'm trying! Unfortunately my friends do not really appreciate that. It has its plus side of course - nobody expects me to bring anything when we are having a dinner or something. I tried to console myself with the fact that I am an engineer and I am not supposed to know how to fix dinner but how to fix things,right? But it's not really working. I feel unfulfilled as a woman ( as dramatic as it sounds ). So I decided to expand my cooking abilities. Here it goes.
Chapter 1 : Spaghetti Sauce
Don't laugh. I thought that I should start with something simple and gradually upgrade.
I found this great recipe online : 'Kay's Spaghetti and Lasagna Sauce' ( http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Kays-Spaghetti-and-Lasagna-Sauce/Detail.aspx ) which sounded quite yummy indeed so it deserved a try.
According to the original recipe those are the things you need:
* 1 (28 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
* 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
* 1 pound lean ground beef
* 2 yellow onions, chopped
* 2 green bell peppers, chopped
* 5 cloves garlic, chopped
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 1 tablespoon dried basil
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* salt and pepper to taste
As I am vegetarian the thing that made me try this one was that the lady who posted it substitutes the beef with 2 spoons of olive oil. That works just fine for me.
As I was reading the directions that followed I thought that this would be piece of cake. Hopeful about the outcome and convincing myself that is not my cooking that s-u-x but the recipes I've tried before were written as if they were a part of 'Learning ROCKET SCIENCE' from Dr. Robert H. Goddard.
Directions:
'Blend the stewed tomatoes and crushed tomatoes in a blender. In a stock pot or large kettle, brown the ground beef with the onions, peppers, garlic. Pour in tomatoes, and reduce heat. Add sugar, basil and oregano, and simmer about 40 minutes. Season with salt and pepper before serving. '
Pretty easy. No problem at all. I did as told and I was happy with the delicious smell coming from the kitchen. So far, so good.
Then my friend Jenny called to check if I've succeeded in blowing up the kitchen ( she's just that nice ). In the blink of an eye Todd, my fat Russian blue cat, got on top of the counter. Apparently it did smell good. My perfect spaghetti sauce was all over my white rug. Now that's what I call a proper mess. Jenny tried to fix my mood by telling me that at least this time around my dumb cat was willing to try my cooking which was new.
I was so pissed that Todd ruined my sauce at first that I hadn't realized that my rug is doomed. I had no hope left after 3 hrs of scrubbing but I decided not to give it up and called for some professional help - carpet cleaning London . I'm happy to inform you that my rug actually looks as good as new.
However, on the next day I tried the sauce again and it is amazing so I definitely recommend it. Even I, an engineer who is a handicap in the kitchen, was able to prepare it. Both, Todd and I, think that it was pretty great. You should try it yourself.
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