Project Marinara Sauce

On the night of April 3, 2012, Lulu Ginger went to the great dumpsters of Trader Joe's and returned safely with 19 jars of Trader Giotto's Organic Tomato Marinara sauce. Our plan of action: make it last for the rest of the semester. The challenge: there are 5 weeks left in the semester, and we.are...HUNGRY! What delicious and suspicious concoctions will we make to get us through these weeks? What acts of desperation will lead us blindly through these treacherous days? Only time, and Trader Giotto, whose spirit lives in each voluptuous jar of sauce, will tell.

19 on 4/3/12--we used the pasta sauce for copious amounts of pasta. It spread like tomatoey wildfire through the apartment. All the cool kids were making spaghetti. It seemed that the good times with pasta would never end but...

18 on 4/5/12--all pasta is gone. Lulu has long since resorted to using the pasta sauce as a bread dip. Desperate times...

            --"I would eat this like soup if it weren't so high in sodium"--quote of Lulu

Pesto Polenta

What is polenta, anyway? It comes in a tube reminiscent of pre-made cookie rolls or jimmy dean sausage patties. It's solid and yellow and cold and it seems really weird... until you cook it. Then, it's amazing. 

Polenta is an Italian dish made from boiled cornmeal and put into a roll. It is traditionally made with meat and cheese, but this recipe is a twist on that idea. 

What ya need:

Spinach

Mushrooms

Onions

Garlic

Salt 

Olive Oil

A Tube of Polenta

Pesto (store-bought, or if you prefer, you can make your own)

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

A frying pan

A knife

A cutting board

What ya do:

Finely chop the onions, garlic, spinach and mushrooms.

Sautée them in olive oil in a pan. Add salt while cooking.

Cut the polenta into roughly 3/4 of an inch slices.

Cook them on both sides in the same pan you used before!

Get out the pesto.

Top the polenta with a little bit of pesto and mozzarella cheese. (You can use fancier cheese if you want, I just used cheap shredded cheese).

Add your sautéed vegetables on top. AND... dig in.

This takes very little time - perfect for a college student like me. The only problem seems to be that I eat them all before I get a chance to sit down. Tender & cheesy. Like a romantic comedy.  

Homemade Salsa

The other day, I wanted black beans really badly, so I cooked some. I thought I'd make burritos or quesadillas. It all sounded so wonderful until I thought what will I use to top my favorite bean? I didn't have any salsa, so I made my own out of what was in my fridge: tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, garlic, Sri-racha, Tabasco (yes, you read that correctly) and cayenne pepper. 


Here's the result:

Juicy deliciousness

I already ate half of this batch!

I've refilled this jar twice now. It's just as good as the salsa my mom gets from time to time, and it's much better than Old El Paso. I have been using it all week on my bean & cheese quesadillas. It's phenomenal. You obviously want to learn how to make some of your own, so here's how you make it:


What ya need:
1 Tomato

1/4 of an English cucumber

1/2 of an onion

1 clove of garlic
a few squirts of Sriracha chili sauce
a few drops of Tabasco
Cayenne Pepper
Salt


What ya do:
Finely chop the tomato, cucumber, onion & garlic. Mix everything together. Add Sriracha, Tabasco, cayenne pepper & salt to taste. If you really like garlic, you can put in more or even add garlic powder if you're lazy. 


I unfortunately had no jalapenos on hand, but the Sri-racha did very well! 


For me, this salsa has just the right amount of stinging spice. It's good on chips, on quesadillas, on burritos, whatever you like. It's AMAZING and (although I have not checked) probably CHEAPER than going to the grocery store and buying it pre-made. 


Sri-racha to the rescue! And it was delicious. Oh my god... I think I just... 


Nevermind.


This is for your amusement:
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/sriracha