Dining Al Fresco

It's pretty much summer in Pueblo, which for us means eating outside on our patio that we made ourselves just a few months ago. The furniture was added for Ryan's birthday; a Craigslist find, and now pots of basil adorn the corners as the warm months promise an abundant harvest.

I have been continuing my bread-baking adventures, this time with the very time-consuming sourdough bread. As I finally reached the baking stage of the 8 day process, I decided I needed to prepare an Italian feast to accompany this accomplishment. And so I turned to that most basic of dinners, the one we all remember from childhood on busy nights when there was no time for our parents to cook; spaghetti.

Growing up, we ate a lot of Ragu and Prego spaghetti sauce, so I think I always assumed that tomato sauce must be very difficult to make. Not so, my friends. I guess if you wanted to make it just like your Italian grandmother, it might be an all day process; I don't know, as far as I know I am 0% Italian. However, it is extremely easy to make a far better than that canned preservative-filled spaghetti sauce of your youth with just a few simple ingredients. As my sourdough bread baked, filling the kitchen with warmth and nostalgic smells, I whipped up a batch of sauce, pasta, and a salad and prepared for a dinner on the patio.

As we sat outside eating, Ryan commented that he thought that food tasted better outdoors. I had to agree. Somehow with sunshine warming your face and plate, breathing in fresh air and the smell of flowers, you take the time to enjoy your food and your environment. I have flash backs to eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in my childhood treehouse; somehow that incredibly familiar lunch tasted better because I was outside and because the thrill of summertime was all around me. I might not have a treehouse anymore, but my patio reminds me that you don't have to be up in a tree to experience the magic of eating homemade food outside.

Homemade Pasta Sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

4-5 cloves garlic minced

2 tbsp basil

2 tbsp oregano

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1 24-ounce can tomatoes (or equivalent fresh if you have them)

Some mushrooms, onions, peppers, or any other veggies you like in small handfulls

Put the olive oil in the pan with the garlic and cook on medium for 1 minute. Add the basil, oregano, and the veggies. Cook another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, and sugar. Bring to a boil, and then simmer on low for between 20 minutes and 2 hours depending on your time restraints. It'll taste great either way.