Pasta Sauce

I haven't posted much as Autumn and Steve seem to be much quicker at getting around to it and have much better photos! Also, I have been very busy just keeping things humming along from keeping everyone fed to clean to just plain happy....ahh the life of a mom;)

Anyway, I am writing tonight because I have had to laugh at my "recipes" over the last month. Generally speaking, I FEED our family. Steve can't stand to shop and/or cook. I don't mind shopping and I truly enjoy cooking. I see over and over again in life how food and cooking bring people together. It is a way to share your love and friendship. A way to show how much you care and truly keep everyone in healthy working order.

Due to the "frugality" of this journey we have opted to do what we do at home...cook most meals at home and eat out only on occasion to get a feel for local favorites or simply when we are too tired to prepare anything. We pack lunches most days to eat on our adventures, and typically come "home" and cook dinner. Again, as we are on a budget, our menu is full of money saving options such as pasta and tacos.

Now my family will tell you I make a mean pasta sauce. Since I was little my mom taught me to make a sauce that tastes like it has been on the stove all day, while only taking about 30 minutes. It starts with sauteed onion, garlic, peppers and mushrooms. Meat is browned and crushed tomatoes are added. To finish it off, basil, oregano, salt and pepper are thrown in (with a "touch of brown sugar to cut the acid " says my mom). It sits for a bit to come together and when the pasta is done, we eat! Simple enough, right? Well, what happens when you have no basil or oregano? What about onions or garlic? What do you do when the can's ingredients are in Swedish or Icelandic? Well, Google Translate has been super helpful...but not always perfect! And, well, garlic and crushed tomatoes, not always easy to find!

In Iceland, the sauce had the onions and tomatoes but was missing the herbs. I stumbled upon a "mix" that is packaged for "pasta sauce" and my family said, "not as good as home, but not bad" and ate it all up! In Norway, I got lazy thinking we could just buy a jar of "Pastasaus" and add some "chorizo" sausage to liven it up. The family said, "ummmmm, not your best effort mom".

Here in Sweden, I thought I had it made. We are in a big city (Stockholm), and I figured the grocery store would be well stocked. The apartment we are in also has a large amount of seasonings and "pantry items". At the store we found the meat and some mushrooms right away, but onions could only be bought in a large bag. There were leeks, however, you could buy individually, and so I got one along with a pepper. Then it was off to find the canned goods. I found a large can of  "tomaattipyre" with lovely pictures of fresh tomatoes all over it and right next to it was a package of seasonings for bolagnese.

After a long day at the amusement park the boys were in the mood for my pasta so I got to work. The leek was in place of my onions and garlic and the meat was browning well. I next proceeded to open the large can with fresh tomato pictures on the side only to find a huge amount of tomato puree! Well, gotta work with what I have, so I added about 1/2 the can and a bunch of water. Seasonings went in and we simmered until the pasta was done. I was very worried this would be the my first failure as puree and water is not exactly what I am used to, but as my son said, "Mom, I think this might be better that what you make at home". And with that, I have a new challenge. Make pasta sauce in every country I can to see which one will be the best!

Our typical lunch - packed in whatever empty container we have from groceries!