Under the Weather

Here I sit. It's a really crappy day outside; rain, wind, just generally yucky and I feel about how the weather looks. I awoke this morning with a sore throat, headache and general malaise, so I plan on doing as little as possible. Right.

So far, I have put a chicken soup on the stove to simmer, cleaned out the bathroom sink drain, cleaned the litter boxes, almost finished the shawl I've been knitting and had a bit of play time with the kitties. Now, I'm really pooped.

So, I fixed myself a hot cup of tea and decided to sit here and blog about what? Can't think of a thing; I guess my Muse must be sick too, so I'll just post a few photos I've been taking in the last week.

Last Friday, H and I hiked up Brown Mountain in Acadia. The bridges and waterfalls are just spectacular.

Even the man made waterfalls were pretty

The Brown Mountain route on the park's carriage roads has three beautiful bridges. This one was built in 1925.

The detail and craftsmanship on these curved bridges is amazing.The pine needles caught my eye on this part of the bridge.

I wish I could have caught the beauty of this waterfall, however, pictures never seem to do them justice.

After a nice 4 mile hike, we headed for home to an aromatic feast of Italian sausage and onions in Mama's Homemade Marina Sauce. Yum!

First, I cut the sausage into coins and sauteed them in a bit of olive oil with sliced onion and garlic.

Next, I added some marinara sauce that I had made last month and frozen, plopped the whole thing on the wood stove to simmer.......

And voila! As Rachel Ray often says "How easy is that"?

Another fine dining experience at Giddy's!

This is my old standby recipe for marinara sauce:

Mama's Marinara

¼ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 large onion, diced

1 large carrot, peeled and grated

5 or 6 garlic cloves

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

3 bay leaves

½ Cup chopped fresh Italian Parsley

1 TBSP dried basil or ½ Cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1 TBSP dried oregano or ½ Cup fresh

½ Cup brewed coffee

1 Cup dry red wine (Approximate measure only. Look away and keep pouring if you like!)

1 can chicken or vegetable broth

½ tsp red pepper flakes (add more if you like it spicier)

salt & pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, sautee onions and carrot in olive oil til glassy, but not brown. Add garlic and sautee for a couple more minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, turn heat to low and simmer for about 2-3 hours. Marinara will be very thick and chunky at this point. If you like a smoother sauce, blend with an immersion blender or chop in blender (take out the bay leaves first). If you like the sauce thinner, add more chicken or veggie broth. This recipe doubles easily.

Be sure you save plenty of the red wine for the chef!

This makes plenty of sauce and it freezes beautifully. Precook and freeze your meatballs and you’ve got supper on the stove in no time flat!

Enjoy!