Jovial Spaghetti and Homemade Sauce

Recently I was given a box of Jovial Spaghetti pasta and a jar of their Organic Tomatoes by my friends at The Soft Landing.  I was encouraged to read about the Jovial company.  They use an ancient wheat called einkorn.  They describe it as follows, "As we developed the Jovial brand, we decided it was time to go beyond organic and take a closer look to find the purest of plant varieties. This led us to the exciting rediscovery of einkorn, the most ancient wheat of all, and a clear vision of what our future would be."  And Jovial was born.  I think it is so great when a company strives to make the best food possible, "beyond organic" as some call it, instead of just meeting the standards for organic, they surpass that to make the best most natural food possible.  

I made a spaghetti sauce with their wonderful jar canned tomatoes and a few more from our garden added in.  I aslo used fresh herbs from my garden, but dried will work just as well.  Everyone liked the sauce and the pasta.  I thought it had a great flavor and consistency.  The one thing I did not like about the spaghetti is that when I put it in the boiling water the noodles broke up a bit.  I don't know if it was operator error, or the nature of that type of pasta.  I plan to purchase more of it, as it is super healthy, so I will see if the next batch breaks.  My pasta sauce recipe is below.

Sauce Recipe
1 Jar whole organic Jovial tomatoes
3-4 fresh tomatoes, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 or 1 whole onion, diced
4-5 cloves garlic finely chopped
a generous handful of fresh herbs if you have them
(if not 1 Tbs Italian seasoning will work)
1-2 Tbs Tomato Paste
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1-2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp organic cane sugar
1 Tbs olive oil

Saute celery, onion and garlic in 1-2 Tbs olive oil in a heavy sauce pan 1-2 minutes until just tender.  Add the jar of tomatoes and chop them up a bit with your spoon.  Add the diced fresh tomatoes and half of the fresh herbs-reserve other half for later.  Add paste, salt, pepper, garlic powder and sugar.  Stir well to combine and let sauce come to a boil.  Turn down to lowest setting, cover and let simmer as long as possible.  I started mine in the morning and let it simmer all day.  Stir occasionally.  An hour or two before you are going to serve the sauce, if it seems too watery, leave the lid ajar and some of the moisture will evaporate.

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and serve!

The last of the Kombucha Diaries...

Tuesday July 31, 2012

I only lost one bottle, the rest of them sat there minding their own business on the counter.  Tuesday I decided I had waited long enough and I put the in the fridge.  Tuesday night at dinner I popped one open and poured everyone a little juice glass full.  I think it was Me, my DH and a couple of my sons were there for dinner.... Amazingly enough everyone liked it, wanted more and thought it tasted like the stuff they sell on tap at Whole Foods!  My son described it as apple juice that is a little sour with a fizz.

It is surprisingly refreshing though, and way better for you than soda.  It still gives you that bubblyness of soda though, and that is nice.  You don't even notice the good for you part, it just tastes like a fizzy drink that is a little different!

Wednesday August 1, 2012
     I had brewed my second batch with the breakfast blend black tea and I did the third with the same tea.  Can't wait to taste the difference in that one.  The next batch  I will do with some green tea just to compare.
I bottled the second batch in the same way, didn't use any socks but did put it in a pan, good think because I lost one bottle again!  I shared my extra starter with a friend who came over to watch me bottle and start my next batch, so she could try it too.

Sunday August 6, 2012
     Waiting, waiting, waiting for the second batch to be ready for the refrigerator, as the first batch is completely gone!  I will really have to make 3 gallons if everyone wants to drink this stuff!

you can see the fizz in the bottle!

If you are interested in trying Kombucha making for yourself, I suggest this web site: Anahata.  That is where I confirmed the written instructions from my friend, and it has nice and detailed instructions, as well as good information on Kombucha!

Thanks for reading the Kombucha Diaries... I would love to hear your comments