Only Time Will Tell

Whenever we know we are leaving town for the weekend, Wednesday and Thursday become last-ditch attempts at utilizing as much produce we have compiled as possible.  There are two reasons for this.

1. I hate wasting money.  Wasted food = Wasted money.
2. I will not be eating quite as healthy over the weekend.  The more fruits and veggies I pack in before I leave, the less guilty I feel about my indulgent dining choices later.  

So when I see three tomatoes and three beautiful red peppers sitting in the crisper drawer, my culinary wheels in my head started turning . . . I had been craving simple spaghetti with red sauce, and the thought of layers upon layers of red vegetables was beginning to sound delish.  For once in my life I wasn't starving, so I decided to roast the tomatoes and red peppers.  I threw a garlic clove in the oven too, to give the red some company.  I forgot to take a picture of the gorgeous browning that occurred on their skins, but I did take a picture of the aftermath of the cutting board after skin removal and chopping/slicing.

Takeaway Lesson: using a cutting board with an around-the-edge moat is most helpful when cutting juicy vegetables.

Slight side note: I was using fairly expensive ground chuck.  I am attempting to only purchase meat that is organically or otherwise humanely raised, which adds higher numbers on that price tag.  My point in telling you this fact is that I had to do this sauce right.  A bad sauce would have meant wasting that quality beef, which would have ended in a grumpy chef.

After browning and draining the meat, with a very high-tech method I learned from my mother. .  .

. . . I threw about 1/3C red wine (keeping with our red theme) in the pan to deglaze.  In then went 1/2 small can of tomato paste.  I have discovered over the years that mixing tomato paste on a medium-high heat with a small amount of liquid helps break the paste down slightly, allowing it to mix better with incoming larger amounts of liquids.

After the tomato paste was successfully mixed with the reducing wine, approximately 1 tablespoon of italian seasoning and 2 teaspoons tarragon (I heart tarragon) were added.  A minute or so of letting those all marry, two cans of tomato sauce, chopped roasted tomatoes, sliced roasted red bell peppers and the cooked hamburger all invaded the pot.  Some salt and a LOT of pepper (I also heart pepper), and it was time to wait . . .

The secret to a good pasta sauce is letting it simmer.  How long, you ask?  My rule is let the sauce cook for as long as you can wait to eat without passing out.  Tonight, 30 minutes did the trick.

I loved the way the red peppers were sliced to resemble the shape of the spaghetti.  I wish I would have sliced them thinner, the dish would have been easier to eat, but you live and learn.  The sauce was the perfect temperature to melt the parmesan cheese on top, so when you twirled up a bite the melted cheese twirled too.  Yum.