Tuesday, July 1, 2014

# Guest Blog # Post

Joan's Marinara Sauce -Guest Author Joan Leotta


It's Too Yummy Tuesday!

On select Tuesdays I share delicious recipes either inspired by books or that are just plain delicious! Today I'm happy to welcome back special guest Joan Leotta, author of A Bowl of Rice. Recently, she was kind enough to share a Throwback Thursday post about her very first fiction. Today, she's back to share a recipe for marinara sauce. Take it away, Joan!


Joan's Marinara Sauce

So, hang your head in shame if you have Italian DNA and purchase marinara sauce in a jar or can! It is sooo easy to make. If you are not Italian, you need not be ashamed of having made such purchases in the past, but after I give you this recipe, why would you bother? In twenty-thirty minutes you can have fresh sauce that tastes of so good! Cheaper too. Yep, you heard me--half an hour tops. Sauce without meat does not require much cooking. Fresh herbs are nice, you can make this sauce very successfully with dried herbs. I would not use garlic salt or powdered garlic. Funny aftertaste.

As with any Italian recipe, the start is in the grocery store. Buy the best in each category.

Ingredients
1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes (I use a brand called 6 in one) Hunts is my second choice and
 1-2 cups water
1-2 T fresh flat Italian parsely-chopped
1-2 T Basil leaves-chopped
3 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, cut into three pieces
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Brown the garlic in the olive oil in a 3 qt saucepan on medium heat
Do not allow it to burn
Add the can of tomatoes, If you like a lot of garlic leave it in. If not, remove before adding the tomatoes
Add salt, pepper, herbs
Add 1-2 cups of water depending on how thick you want your sauce. Stir often and it will thicken as you go. After 20 minutes it is done!

Cook your pasta so that it is still firm when you bite it. Serve the pasta with the sauce and you will be in culinary heaven!



A Bowl of Rice
by Joan Leotta
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Anna Maria seems to have the habit of selecting men who love her as long as she is doing what they want! Breaking up with one such man to serve her country as a nurse in Vietnam, she finds another much the same over there. Fortunately her friendship with Kathy, another nurse seems to offer the good advice she needs. When Kathy is captured by the Viet Cong while on a mercy mission to a local orphanage, Anna Maria tags along as triage care for the rescuers.  George, who has been wounded by the VietCong draws a map for the rescuers--is it also a map to Anna Maria's heart? A true map by a man who will love her for herself?


About the Author

Since childhood, I've been writing and performing. Born in Pittsburgh, PA, I lived most of my life in the Washington DC suburb of Fairfax, VA and now I live in Calabash, NC with husband Joe. Our daughter, Jennie, still lives in the DC area. My award-winning poetry, short stories, books and articles and photography have been published in many journals, magazines and newspapers. My folklore shows and one-woman shows on historic figures, have been enjoyed by many at venues up and down the east coast. You can learn more about my specific work at www.joanleotta.wordpress.com.

Creativity is an explosion of expression and a way to share my love or interest in something or someone with others, what I see and how I see it.  My best images,  in photography, poetry, or other writing, “speak” my thoughts but leave enough creative space, room for thought and to allow the viewers to interact with the photos. My hope is that from the work of my imagination, the  imaginations of my audience/readers  will flourish.

Favorite subjects are ordinary objects and people—I want to share with others the beauty that I find in the ordinary. Shy faces, rounded sides of an ordinary object, the forgotten nook or cranny of a large place—these are the subjects that draw me.

Creating on paper with pen, with light  through a camera or onstage in performance, my artistic goal is always the same—to show the beauty of the ordinary and lift up my audience—encouraging others through pen and performance.


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2 comments:

  1. Yum. Now I'm hungry. Thanks for the recipe. I'm going to try it but I'm totally using five times the garlic. (Or more.) :-P

    ReplyDelete
  2. I know, right?! Thanks to Joan for sharing this...sounds amazing!

    ReplyDelete

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