First Time with Fresh Herbs

The title of this post alone should give you a pretty good idea of my skills in the kitchen. So I am proud to proclaim that last night I made a pasta sauce from scratch, using actual leaves of basil. Not even store-bought basil - this was straight out of somebody's garden. There was still dirt on it, that's how fresh it was.

We love pasta in our house. It features on our menu at least once or twice a week (when you only have 4 things you know how to make, repeats are unavoidable). I used to absolutely love Original Ragu with Ground Beef, but then they changed their recipe and their sauce became very watery. I tried a few other brands and couldn't find anything I really liked. The thought of making my own sauce was very appealing to me; however, it also was also strangely intimidating. Opening a jar had set a very simple precedent.

Enter my first "expert" or cooking coach. Chanthone ("Martha blown-out-of-the-water") offered to provide me with one recipe/week to start building my cooking repetoire and skills. And so I attempted a sauce made from fresh tomatoes, fresh garlic, and fresh basil (courtesy of Chanthone's garden). It was restaurant-style good. Now, I realize my standards might be somewhat disadvantaged, but this recipe put me in a whole new level of cooking ability. I cooked with fresh herbs, for Pete's sake!

If this is the type of progress I see after one day, I'm almost scared of what a year will do. I just might be giving Martha tips!

The Recipe: (written in language for a non-cook)

Fresh Tomato Sauce

2 tbsp. olive oil or butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
Saute in frying pan until softened (2-3 min.)

Add:
2 stalks green onions chopped (I did have to call a friend to see what parts of the onion you use...)
2 medium tomatoes, diced into 1" cubes
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar

Simmer over medium heat until everything is soft and looks like chunky sauce. Add 1 tbsp. basil (approx. 5 large leaves), finely chopped (stack leaves together, roll it cigar style, and slice thin slivers). Adding the herb last will give you a fresher taste of the herb.

If you want to add chicken (I did), add boneless, cut-up pieces of raw chicken after the garlic has softened and cook until the chicken is done. Then add the rest of ingredients as listed.