Pasta with Marinara Sauce

Pasta that common ubiquitous food is not so common in our house. The most important reason being the pasta sauce and the texture of the pasta itself. The family though loves pasta so occasionally I would pick up a jar of pasta sauce from the grocery store but the amount of sodium gave me pause. Sometimes I would pick some "authentic" pasta sauces from World Market with a "Made in Italy" giving me the only reason to pick them up. So the quest for a good tasting pasta sauce continued till recently.

A few months ago caught an episode of America's Test Kitchen on PBS and saw this amazingly simple Marinara Sauce. This is so simple to make and tastes so fresh and light. Cooking pasta sauce at home also gives control over the fat besides the sodium that goes in. I am not for a minute suggesting this is an authentic pasta sauce or pasta by any means. This is spiced up to suit our taste buds. I am not fond of oregano so I left it out.

Green Earth
What is Clean Coal?
How can coal which is inherently polluting be associated with clean? The way politicians talk about clean coal you would think it is brand new thing compared to the dirty coal that we all know about. Clean coal refers to the technology that would reduce the impact on the environment and improve its efficiency. To me it looks like a clever tactic to wrap dirty coal in a shining new wrapper with the name clean slapped on it but what do I know. Politicians are now fond of citing clean coal as the best thing to get them out of dependence on foriegn oil.

Environmental groups are up in arms over the term "clean coal" calling it an oxymoron.

Wouldn't the resources be better spent on truly clean technologies like solar and wind.




Recipe Source: America's Test Kitchen Marinara Sauce

Ingredients
1. 2 Cans whole Tomatoes in juice
2. 1 Red Onion chopped fine
3. 5-6 garlic cloves chopped fine
4. 2-3 tsp chili powder
5. kosher salt to taste
6. 1/4 cup Red wine (I used merlot)
7. 3/4 tbsp canola oil (Use olive oil if preferred)

Method
1. Drain the tomatoes and reserve the juice
2. Squeeze the drained tomatoes and set aside
3. In a wide pan add oil and when hot add the onions and saute on medium low heat till they start to turn brown
4. Add the garlic and saute for a few seconds, do not let them brown.
5. Now add the tomato solids and let them saute till they start sticking to the bottom and turning brown
6. Now add the wine and let it simmer for a few minutes
7. Add the tomato juice and simmer for 10 minutes or so.
8. Towards the end add the chili powder and salt and cook for a minute.
9. Add Coooked pasta and toss, let sit in the heat for a few minutes. Turn off the heat, mix and serve with paramesan cheese.