Tired of red sauces that seem to disappear, leaving you a bowl of naked, watery noodles on top of sauce?  Well, today I am your Italian grandmother and I will share my secret with you.  Any time you make a red sauce-even if your red sauce comes from a jar or can-your secret ingredient is: a cup of cooking water from your noodle pot.  The cloudy water you are currently pouring down the drain is full of starch.  Starch = Glue.  So you are basically adding food glue to your pasta sauce.  Not only does that little bit of water have a ton of starch it should also be nicely salted, i.e. even more flavor.

Another important step is how you prepare the noodles themselves.  Once your noodles have cooked to al dente, use a measuring cup to reserve about a cup of pasta water before draining the pasta.  Then drain your pasta by pouring the entire pot into a colander in the sink. Allow the water to drain away and that’s it.  Do not butter, oil, or rinse your pasta in any way!  You’ll wash away all of that wonderful starch.  The pasta will be sticky, and difficult to separate, but that’s exactly what you want.  When you combine them with the sauce the liquid in the sauce will loosen and coat the noodles.

Now look at your sauce.  How much water does it need?  If it is thin, then just add a 1/4 cup. If it has really simmered for awhile, and gotten pretty chunky, feel free to add as much as necessary to thin the sauce to the level you would like. I also use this method to make a normal amount of sauce into “more sauce,” if guests show-up or if I am making extra lasagnas.  Continue simmering your sauce until it is the thickness you like.  Serve, and remember your Italian grandma loves you.

Independence Day is tomorrow, and it is so easy to make it special. Whether you’re hosting a outdoor group before the fireworks or just making dinner after work, here’s a super simple Fourth of July Fiesta Menu:

Fourth of July Fiesta

• Beef Fajitas with soft tortillas, shredded cheese, and sour cream.
• Pico de Gallo
• Guacamole
• Red, white and blue sundaes: vanilla ice cream with Berry Topping (strawberries and blue berries) and fresh whipped cream.

Pick up your skirt steaks and marinade them tonight before bed. Go ahead and make the pico and berry topping tonight and refrigerate. Tomorrow, mash your avocados and mix in some of the pico. Grill your fajitas and dinner is ready! Afterwards, just whip the cream and watch the fireworks while enjoying your sundaes.

When I moved out of my mother’s house she let me take whatever I wanted from her pantry. This included her spice cabinet which contained bottles and tins I could remember from childhood. When a spice was so old that it had solidified in the jar, I simply used a butter knife to break it up again. I remember, at one point, buying a huge warehouse sized jar of garlic powder, thinking what a great deal I was getting. Three years later, we’ve used about 1/3 of the jar. And, of course, any time a recipe calls for some obscure spice I haven’t stocked up on at the warehouse store I am forced to buy a teensy bottle of it at the grocery store for an outrageous price. If this sounds like you too, then we both have a problem. Primarily that our spices are so old we’re essentially adding dust to our food. Secondly, that we totally overpaid on all those bottles and jars.

Bulk spice bins are a dream come true for foodies on a limited budget. I can buy the exact measurement I need: 2 tbsp marjoram-a spice I am guaranteed to only need about once or twice every 5 years. Not only am I not cluttering my cabinet up with a full bottle of wasted marjoram that I paid a premium for, but I can purchase my light as a feather plastic baggie of spice for a few cents. I am saving money but, just as importantly, I am always ensuring my spices are as fresh as possible. Occasionally, the price per ounce of bulk spices slightly exceeds the price per ounce of the bottled spices, but I’ve generally only found this to be true on huge amounts, or on mega-generic brands. In this case, since I am only purchasing what I actually need-a fraction of an ounce-I am still saving money by not paying for spice I will wind up wasting. If you are pretty bottle buyer-and admit it: you are-then you are really getting screwed. So keep your pretty bottles, and refill them with your fresh bulk spices as needed.

The best places to find bulk spices: high-end groceries, farmer’s markets, ethnic groceries, and spice companies (like Penzey’s). Try to find actual brick and mortar spice stores rather than purchasing online since you’ll lose some of your savings to shipping costs. If you know of any good places to find bulk spices in your area leave it in the comments-remember there are different stores in different areas of the country. If you can’t find the bulk spice bins, your next best bet is the bottle-less spices, usually found in cellophane packets.

Yes, I am one of those picky kids who hates beans. I would make a very poor vegetarian for the very reason that the texture and smell of beans in any fashion makes me gag. So no wonder I never liked hummus. Wait, what? “Hummus isn’t made of beans,” you say. Well, let me tell you, my gag reflex knows when it’s in the vicinity of beans and hummus-well, it’s just glorified bean dip. But you know what? I LOVE homemade hummus. The store-bought stuff is super beany, like eating re-fried beans straight from the can beany. But homemade hummus? Homemade hummus is creamy and nutty and garlicky and delicious! And easy! You just dump the ingredients into a blender or food processor and whiz away. Here is a great video though my recipe is a bit different due to the beaniness factor.

Hummus

• 1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1 1/2 cloves garlic
• 6-8 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• water
• pinch cayenne pepper
• salt & pepper to taste
• paprika
• olive oil

1. Drain the chickpeas.
2. Add all ingredients except spices, oil, and water to the blender/food processor.  Start with the smaller amounts of lemon juice and add more as you go.
3. Puree until smooth adding small amounts of water as necessary to make it smoother and creamier. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if necessary.
4. Spoon hummus into a dish and drizzle with olive oil to taste and dust with paprika and cayenne.
5. It will have the best texture at room temperature.

Eat this with crackers, pita bread wedges, or pita chips. You can also dip carrot chips or celery in it for a healthy, low-cal snack. I don’t but you could.