Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

has anyone noticed how much thinner Paula looks lately? Maybe she finally has to watch her fat intake! I for one won't be eating fried lasagna, deep fried mac&cheese, fried butter balls or any of her other heart stopping recipes but she is a fun lady to watch and an animal lover. I just hope she doesn't feed this food to her dogs, it might be considered animal cruelity.

I like cooking my tomatoes (preferably Roma) with the skins left on for better nutrition and fiber content. They cook out so that you can eat the sauces and you won't notice the skins.

Often, I buy my tomatoes out of the produce section that have been set aside by the market for quick clearance. These are usually tomatoes that are becoming too ripe to handle much fondling by customers and are perfect for sauces...the riper, the better!

Also, you can add other items to suit the dish and/or your taste, such as fresh mushrooms, diced bell peppers, oregano, and dashes of red wine.

After cooking for a more consistent sauce, puree your finished product. When cooking foods such as this, stews, soups, stroganoff, chili beans, I simply put it in the frig for a couple of days and let it sit....it allows the flavors to blend and I think, makes a better dish to serve.

These sauces are great and have super versitility.....They can be used for numerous dishes. Many great suggestions so far. I like using them as a base for stuffed bell peppers with brown rice, stuffed tomatoes, pastas, and other dishes.

Lastly, they freeze very well!!

Enjoy ---- The Bear side of the Pair

May I respectfully suggest making Real Southern Cornbread? No white flour, no sugar. Stone ground cornmeal, an egg, some fat, baking powder and soda and any kind of buttermilk.

This is delicious--the recipe is over 200 years old. Our foremother made it daily. You will need an overproof cast iron skillet. Any old Southern Cookbook should have it.

Google "real southern cornbread" for starters. You can bake it a day or two ahead for stuffing. It's great with chili or stew--hearty food and you'll come to love the lack of sugar. Eeeww! Who wants sweet stuffing in a bird?

@eleeb if you do swing by Shultzy's and you come after 7p.m. ask anyone who works there if "the Pats" are here, my bf and I go there everyday after I get off from work for drinks. Bf's name is Patrick and I am Patricia so everyone refers to us as "the Pats". Anyways I would like to treat you to a "welcome to Seattle" drink.

OLIVAR, small and delicious..
small plates, fresh and not expensive

The fried chicken at Golden Krust is awesome!!!