Roasted tomato pasta sauce recipe and winter stores report

How is everyone doing the day after Thanksgiving?  We are having a quiet day at home and are looking forward to Thanksgiving  leftovers for supper tonight! We spend Thanksgiving at my in-laws. This year I brought a pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce, but came home with enough leftovers to feed us for another meal at least. Thank you Cindy! 

The media is always full of ‘how to use up your leftovers’ recipes the day after Thanksgiving, but I like the leftovers just the way they are! Instead, I have a great recipe for you - a four ingredient pasta sauce I made this week, using some of my frozen roasted tomatoes. Sometimes simple is just right, especially after a Holiday (it is also delicious).

 

Bacon, Leek and Roasted Tomato Sauce

Four strips of bacon

1 leek, thoroughly washed and chopped (white and light green parts only)

16oz or more of roasted grape tomatoes in olive oil

Parmesan cheese

Pasta for four people

Cook the pasta until almost tender.

Cook the bacon in a deep skillet until done. Remove to a paper towel to drain. Sauté the leeks in the bacon drippings until soft.  Add the tomatoes. Chop up the bacon and add back to the pan. Cook until the tomatoes start to break up and are heated through.

Add the drained pasta to the skillet and combine with the sauce. Continue to cook until the pasta is done. Add parmesan cheese and toss, provide extra cheese at the table.

Serves four.

Today I went to my Community Garden plot to see what was happening. I cut two red cabbages to use this week. There are two cauliflower heads growing very slowly as well as some brussels sprouts. Both of these crops are well past their maturity date but are not ready to harvest. We have had so much freezing weather I think all growing has stopped. I’ll keep an eye on them and see if they get any bigger, but they are doing so much better than the plants in my home garden. I will need to do some studying up for next year to see what I can improve on! 

These sprouts are getting bigger but soooo slowwwly!

Here is this week’s Winter Stores Report. The fresh vegetables are getting low, the broccoli and cabbage are on their last legs, and I don’t know if I’m going to get a meal’s worth of cauliflower or brussels sprouts. I may run out of fresh stores before the end of December!

Eaten from the stores this week

Breakfasts: cranberry muffins; jams; baked oatmeal with blueberries and apple sauce

Lunches:  pasta and homemade sauce; leftover vegetable bean soup; homemade peanut butter ; jam; pickles

Suppers:  baked ravioli and homemade pasta sauce; pasta with roasted tomatoes, leeks and bacon; carrots; Beef chilli made with jalapeno and thai chilli peppers; sweet pepper and tomato omelets; cranberries for cranberry sauce.

Inventory Remaining

Fresh (harvested)

Cherry Tomatoes  (1/2 oz), Potatoes (1lb),

Fresh (in the ground)

Carrots (whole bed),Turnips (3),Cabbage, green and red (6),Scallions, Broccoli, Curly Kale, Red Russian Kale, Cauliflower (4), Brussels Sprouts, Rutabaga (3)

Frozen vegetables and fruit

Bag roasted tomatoes (4), Corn on the Cob (5 ears)* Bag of 5 peeled and cored apples (5), 1lb Rhubarb* (2), Quart bag blueberries * (1.5), 1Lb Strawberries* (2), 4oz Meyer Lemon Curd (3), 1.5 cups Kousa berry puree, 16oz Cranberries (1)*

*Locally grown

Dry 

16oz jar zucchini (1/2),  24oz jar tomatoes (3/4)

Frozen Meals

4oz pesto (3), 1 Pint green tomato curry sauce (5), Eggplant Parmesan (7 meals), Quart tomato sauce (1) Lentil curry (1)

Canned

Jams (unopened)

8oz Strawberry (5), 16oz Blueberry (3), 8oz Rhubarb cinnamon (7), 16oz Meyer Lemon Marmalade (7), 8oz Meyer Lemon Marmalade (1), 16oz Blackcurrant (4), 8oz Blackcurrant (1)

Other (unopened)

16oz Apple Sauce (15), 16oz Dill pickles (4), 16oz Corn Relish (3)

Frozen Baked Items

Cranberry muffins (7)

How are your veggies doing?

Sue