I made pasta and tomato sauce for dinner today, and it reminded me of something that happened when I first got to Egypt...
I've never been the best cook, but in the US, I did okay. I could even cook some French and Mexican things and had a wok to stir-fry Chinese food when I felt like it. When I got married over here, I figured pasta was the quickest and easiest to whip out, so I went to a corner store to buy the makings. There was plenty of macaroni -- but no tomato sauce. They only had jars of tomato paste. Lots and lots of 'em. So ... um ... I bought the paste. I could make sauce out of that, right?
Not so much. It was thick and awful and bitter -- even when I added sugar to it. (Yeah, I was that desperate.)
I discovered that I was really spoiled. My idea of tomato sauce was that it came in jars marked "mushroom flavored" or "with cheese." I was actually surprised when my Egyptian husband suggested I make sauce the way his mom did -- with fresh tomatoes. But how do you do that? I've grown up in a culture where grocery shelves are stocked with so many ready-made, great tasting, quick-n-easy choices, you can think you're really a cook when you're not.
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| Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
Since you can only buy vegetables that are in season here, I now plan meals around what's available. I don't buy jars of things with preservatives, chemicals, and additives in them. Everything's fresh and natural. Yeah, cooking from scratch is a little harder, but I'm sure I'm better off for it.
And I've learned how to make a mean tomato sauce! :-)
And I've learned how to make a mean tomato sauce! :-)
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