Mendolonium

Source: Gina Mendolo

Ingredients:

• 2 cups seasonal vegetables of your choice, julienned/chopped (My favorites are bell peppers, onion, zucchini, and corn.)
• 2 T olive oil
• juice of 1 lime
• 3/4 t ground coriander
• 3/4 t ground cumin
• 1/2 t oregano

Directions:

1. Toss all ingredients in a bowl.
2. You may cook immediately or let marinate for greater flavor development.
3. Place vegetables and marinade in a frying/sauté pan. (I use my trusty cast iron skillet.)
4. Saute for approximately five minutes or until vegetables have softened.
5. Serve immediately with warm tortillas, beans, and your choice of toppings such as cheese, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole

Source: Gina Mendolo

Ingredients:

• 1 pizza crust, unbaked
• 3 firm pears, peeled and sliced (I generally use Bartlett)
• 185 grams (6.5 ounces) Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
• 140 grams (5 ounces) walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 medium red onion, diced
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 225 grams (8 ounces) mozzarella (fresh), drained and diced
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Roll out pizza dough.
3. Brush dough with olive oil.
4. Saute onion and brown sugar in a small pan over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes.
5. Spread mozzarella, pears, Gorgonzola, onion, and walnuts (in that order) evenly over dough.
6. Back in preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes or until edges of crust are just golden brown.

Source:  Gina Mendolo

Ingredients:

• 80 ounces ripe tomatoes, peeled (you may substitute canned whole peeled tomatoes if fresh are not available)  Note:  to peel and seed fresh tomatoes use this technique.
• 6 ounces tomato paste
• 1 medium red onion, finely diced
• 2 T olive oil
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 T oregano, dried
• 1/4 t crushed red pepper
• 1/2 cup basil, chopped

Directions”

First you will need decide how “chunky” you like your suace.  I prefer mine very smooth and homogenous so I pass all of my tomatoes through a food mill prior to making the sauce.  Alternately you can chop them by hand, in a food processor, or leave them whole, and “mash” them to make a sauce after they have been cooked with the other ingredients.  There is no right or wrong way.

1. Saute onions in olive oil over medium-high heat until transparent (about 7 minutes).
2. Combine onions and all other ingredients in a large, heavy bottomed pot.
3. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.
4. Cool and store in refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for months.

Note:  Makes approximately 10 cups of sauce.

Source: Gina Mendolo

Ingredients:

• 28 ounces tomatoes (can use fresh or canned), processed through the fine disk of a food mill to yield a smooth tomato sauce (Alternate 1: use a food processor if you don’t have a food mill. The sauce will be somewhat coarser. Alternate 2: use a plain canned or jarred tomato sauce.)
• 3/4 c shallots, finely diced (Alternate 1: replace the shallots with onions)
• 1/4 c butter
• 1/2 c vodka
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 T fresh basil, chopped
• 1 t dried oregano

Directions:

1. In a heavy skillet (I use a large cast iron skillet)* over medium heat, saute shallots in butter until slightly brown and soft.
2. Pour in vodka and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Mix in tomatoes, basil, oregano, and cream and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Toss with pasta and serve.

Notes: Don’t be tempted to cheat on the simmering times. If you do the sauce will taste excessively of vodka and/or be too thin. When tossed with 1 lb pasta this recipe makes approximately 4 servings.
I have no idea what the nutritional information on this is, but I did toss it with two full heads of broccoli. That has to count for something right?

*I have a 12 inch cast iron skillet that I got from my parents. This is my desert island pan; meaning if I was stranded on a dessert island with only one pan this is what I would want. I use it to make everything from sauces, to curries, to stir fry, to cornbread, to pancakes. It is naturally non-stick (without any pesky endocrine disrupting chemicals) and actually increases the iron content of the food that you cook in it. It also quite heavy and would make an excellent weapon if I ever had reason to hit anyone in the head with a frying pan.