Uncle Roman said it was the best he's ever tasted . . .

Uncle Roman said that last night's spaghetti sauce (Peter, forgive him for calling all pasta sauce "spaghetti sauce") was the best he's ever tasted.  Which is interesting.  I actually intended to make one of our family's favorite recipes:  Uncooked Spaghetti Sauce (again, Peter, forgive us for calling all pasta sauce "SS").  This recipe calls for the following:

3 c. uncooked tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/3 c. olive oil
1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped or 1 T. dry basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 c. fresh parsley, chopped or  1 heaping T. dry
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
1 t. salt or more if needed

I decided to "primavera" this recipe (or add a bunch of chopped vegetables) so I chopped onion, zucchini, and eggplant and sauteed that with the garlic in a little oil.  I then added the 1/3 c. olive oil, basil, parsley, cheese, and tomatoes.  I did not cook it after I added these ingredients!  Voila!  The best "spaghetti sauce" Uncle Roman has ever tasted on angel hair pasta.  Try it, but please don't call it "spaghetti sauce." 

Yum!  This is the season for fruit pies. . .

Tonight I tried a new recipe for a pear pie that was shared by Kristen Olsen, the amazing administrative assistant to the Young Women.  It was all hands on deck, so Aimee and Aaron and Peter helped too. It's a wonderful time to make fruit pies.  Besides the pear pie I also made a fresh peach pie.  Here are the recipes.  Try them before the delicious Utah fruit disappears.  And by the way, honey crisp apples are available now at the Spanish Fork farmer's market or at the McMullin's stand in Payson.

French Pear Pie
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.\

Single crust unbaked pie shell
4 large ripe pears, peeled and sliced into the pie shell
3 T. frozen orange juice concentrate drizzled over the pears.

Combine following ingredients for topping and crumble over the top of the pears.
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. white or brown sugar (I used brown sugar and the color was nice)

Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.  (I had to turn down the heat to 300 after 25 min.)


Fresh Peach Pie Filling

In small saucepan combine:
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. water
2 T. lemon juice

Bring to a boil and add:
3 T. cornstarch mixed in 1/4 c. cold water.
Add food coloring - yellow or orange for peach pie and red for strawberry pie.

Bring to a boil again and stir until thickened.  Remove from heat and cool.

Slice fresh peaches and generously fill a baked pie shell.  Pour cooled filling over the peaches.  Serve immediately with whipped cream or ice cream.  (The pie shell and filling can be made ahead.  Just before serving, dip peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds.  Remove skins and slice the peaches.)

Hope you try these recipes out and report back!