Teachers' Day, a hearty lunch and homemade bolognaise sauce!

It's been a while, and I was extremely BUSY, with work, and being unwell. What's new. I am flying through this entry, for I am going to snooze my afternoon away...

And so, here's what I gave Lia's teachers on Teachers' Day. I ran out of ideas, and did the same as before. Pink Gerberas with a simple handmade gift tag each.

Then, my dear cousin, Kellie was back from London for a vacation and we had a hearty lunch together!

Very yummy foods! A tip, go at lunch, it's better than that of dinner because of the different chefs. :)

Zai Shun Curry Fish Head

First Cooked Food Point,

253 Jurong East St 24, #01-205, S600253.

Tel: 6560 8594

My second attempt at making bolognaise sauce! I chanced upon a recipe from the papers and I find it easy and tasty at the same time. Here's the recipe! :)

Bolognaise sauce

2 medium onions, sliced thinly

200g minced beef (optional, or you can use minced pork too)

2 cans of 400g chopped or whole tomatoes (I used like 5 whole tomatoes, de-skinned and diced)

1 can of 400g tomato puree

Some brown button mushrooms (You decide on how much to use, I loved mushrooms and added a whole lot!)

1.5 cups of red wine (I used Virginia Dare red cooking wine, readily available at Cold Storage)

Handful chopped basil (fresh basil, can be found at Cold Storage too)

1 tbsp mixed herbs (I used bottled herbs)

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and black pepper to taste

1 tsp potato starch, optional. To thicken sauce to your preferred consistency.

Grated Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese to serve

Tip: To de-skinned tomatoes easily, simply leave them in a saucepan of boiling water for a minute of two and when you see the skin shrivelling, bring them up and dunk them into iced water. The tomato skin then loosens, just like the picture below, and peeling them is a breeze!

Steps:

1) Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Lightly fry onions and minced beef until onions are golden and beef is browned.

2) Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, brown button mushrooms, basil, mixed herbs and red wine. Stir well and add in sugar, which will take away any acid taste from the tomatoes.

3) Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring all the time, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4) Finally, add salt to taste. And more sugar if you find the sauce too sour. I would suggest adding black pepper only at time of serving for kids may be sensitive to the mild spiciness of pepper. If you don't use all the sauce immediately (I didn't), it will keep well in the refrigerator for several days.