OK, What's For Lunch or Tea Today?

[Roy S]

i used to stick labels on but they always fell off..

I write on the lid with a sharpie.

[Marco]

Well excuuuuuuuse me!

ALL my pasta sauce is made from scratch, I just generally make more than I need so I have some to freeze for use when I can't be bothered to cook. I don't record the ingredients on the lid of the freezer containers just 'pasta sauce' and the date I froze it but the 'base' generally consists of the same ingredients (plus or minus some of them, nothing's measured) so has the same 'house' flavour. The only difference might be the use of fresh vine tomatoes rather than passata.

Lol - slap me cheeks!

The last bit though is why, for me, it sometimes lacks liquid and looks more like chopped up ingredients, as opposed to a sauce. Soz, just being honest No doubt it's still tasty, though!

Marco.

[struth]

I write on the lid with a sharpie.

in n york and other places its illegal to have a sharpie in public apparently. i looked it up to see what it was.. something to do with grafitti

[Roy S]

Lol - slap me cheeks!

Later darling

Freezing a sauce does seem to make it thicker however (maybe some moisture is lost in the freezing process?) & any liquid you add to said sauce doesn't seem to incorporate itself properly? Some chemistry type thing going on, dunno

in n york and other places its illegal to have a sharpie in public apparently. i looked it up to see what it was.. something to do with grafitti

I keep mine in my trouser pocket ('am I pleased to see you or...')

[Marco]

i used to stick labels on but they always fell off..

Del vacuum seals stuff (pasta sauce, portioned up meat, etc) into clear 'pouches' (she's got a machine that does it), which are still see-through even when frozen, so you can easily see what the contents are.

We don't freeze leftovers, as generally there aren't any, or if so they go into the fridge and are eaten next day - or given to the cats!

We also don't freeze anything that's hard to identify, for reasons discussed, so only obvious things such as chicken breast, pasta sauce (meat or tomato), bacon, sausage, etc, not 'meals' as such

Marco.

[struth]

Del vacuum seals stuff (pasta sauce, portioned up meat, etc) into clear 'pouches' (she's got a machine that does it), which are still see-through even when frozen, so you can easily see what the contents are.

We don't freeze leftovers, as generally there aren't any, or if so they go into the fridge and are eaten next day - or given to the cats!

We also don't freeze anything that's hard to identify, for reasons discussed, so only obvious things such as chicken breast, pasta sauce (meat or tomato), bacon, sausage, etc, not 'meals' as such

Marco.

ive a vacuum machine too. it can do bags or containers etc of which ive a good few. its a great way to marinade too as it speeds it up and you get better penetration oohah vicar!

also it freezes better without air

[Marco]

Later darling

Freezing a sauce does seem to make it thicker however (maybe some moisture is lost in the freezing process?) & any liquid you add to said sauce doesn't seem to incorporate itself properly? Some chemistry type thing going on, dunno

Lol, well shweety, I'll look forward to you making my bum glow!

I know what you mean with the sauce, but it's piss-easy to cure. What I do is defrost it first in the microwave, so it softens from a rock-solid block, then take that out and pop it into a pan, on a low heat, to reduce it slowly to a liquid, and at that point or a before, if the sauce is lacking some moisture, simply stir in some passata and bring it up to the right heat.

Pasta sauce should also always be heated up SLOWLY, never too quickly, as it can burn, and then you end up with a bitter taste.

I never have a problem with any added pasta blending in properly. I just get a nice smooth, rich sauce. The other thing you don't seem to do, going by your pics, is mix the sauce in with the pasta BEFORE it goes on the plate. It looks like you just pour it on top.

The proper (read as Italian way) of doing it, is to have two pans on the go, one for boiling the pasta in, and another for the sauce. Halfway through the boiling process, add a good tablespoon full of the pasta water (which should be well-seasoned with salt and contain a little olive oil) to the sauce, and stir it in, which will both add liquid to the sauce and increase flavour.

Then when both are ready, bring the sauce to the pasta, pour it in, and toss [I know you're good at that) the pasta and sauce in the pan until the pasta is well-coated (every bit evenly covered ), then add a knob of butter (the real stuff, not marg), to add richness and a little sheen to the sauce, stir it in, and pour the finished pasta into a bowl and finish off with freshly-grated cheese, preferably Parmesan, not cheddar!

Try that and see how you get on

Marco.

[Marco]

ive a vacuum machine too. it can do bags or containers etc of which ive a good few. its a great way to marinade too as it speeds it up and you get better penetration oohah vicar!

also it freezes better without air

Indeed on all counts!

Marco.

[Roy S]

I never have a problem with it blending in properly. I just get a nice rich sauce. The other thing you don't seem to do, going by your pics, is mix the sauce in with the pasta BEFORE it goes on the plate. It looks like you just pour it on top.

I actually prefer it like that (I know it's not the way you *should* do it ), that way you get some variation of textures and flavours as you work your way through the dish other than it all tasting the same if you mix the sauce in.

[Marco]

Fair enough, it's you that's eating it

Try what I said though about the sauce, adding passata, etc, and also when heating up the sauce add some pasta water - see if that works and/or you like it any better,

Marco.