Perfecting the Art: Making Tomato Sauce like an Italian, A Dozen Years Later.

Posted on March 27 by Jennifer Avventura

One of the most enduringly popular posts on this blog was written twelve years ago and remains its top-performing piece. Even today, it attracts thousands of daily visitors from around the world seeking advice on perfecting their Italian tomato sauce.

I recently revisited this old post to reflect on how my sauce-preparing methods have evolved over the past twelve years. While some aspects have remained consistent, others have changed, driven by the necessity for greater time efficiency and my continual learning of new Italian methods along the way.

Let’s dive in—here’s how to craft tomato sauce like a true Italian, twelve years later and with a bit more wisdom under my belt, and no flashy photos, just the recipe. As I did twelve years ago, I still prefer not to measure my ingredients precisely; instead, I eyeball them and hope for the best.

Step 1: Gather the following ingredients: fresh or whole peeled Roma tomatoes, 1 large carrot, 2 stalks of celery, one medium-sized onion, garlic (to taste), dry or fresh oregano, parsley, fresh basil, tomato paste, and salt.

Step 2: Clean and chop all ingredients, leaving the garlic whole to add at the end.

Step 3: Heat oil in a medium or large saucepan. Test the oil temperature by adding a small piece of onion; when it begins to bubble, add the remaining chopped onion, carrots, celery, and oregano. Let the mixture cook down over medium heat until the onions become slightly transparent.

Step 4: Incorporate fresh or canned Roma tomatoes. I personally opt for Roma tomatoes due to their resilient texture when cooked down, but choose whichever variety that works best with your taste preferences. Mix in tomato paste, followed by parsley, basil, and salt to taste. Add whole peeled garlic clove(s), stir well, and maintain on a low to medium heat setting.

Step 5: Simmer the sauce until the garlic becomes soft, about thirty minutes. In the past, I would let it simmer for 2 – 3 hours, but I now believe that’s too lengthy for today’s fast-paced lifestyle.

Step 6: Optional, use an immersion blender to gradually blend the sauce until no vegetable chunks remain. I lean towards a smoother sauce now as it’s more versatile for various Italian recipes. Blend to achieve your desired consistency.

Step 7: Serve and enjoy.

Did I overlook any key steps or ingredients? If you noticed any omissions or have additional suggestions, please share them in the comment section below. Your input is valued!

I’m not Italian, nor do I pretend to be one online or in real life. However, I married an Italian, and to my delight, he adores my sauce even more today than he did twelve years ago.

Explore the original post by clicking here.

How to buy property in North Sardinia

Posted on February 16 by Jennifer Avventura

The search engines have spoken and thousands of you want to know how to buy property in Sardinia, Italy.

I’m here to show you the easy way.

How to buy property in Sardinia, Italy

The easy way is to find an agent you trust; and I know a lot of you trust me otherwise my inbox wouldn’t be filled with questions like:

How do I buy a small house in Sardinia with a plot of land for a garden?
I’d like to retire to Sardinia but I don’t speak Italian?
My husband and I would like to move to Sardinia with our family but we don’t speak Italian and haven’t a bank account in Italy, what do we do?

How do you find an agent you can trust and one that speaks fluent Italian and fluent English?

That’s another easy question that I can answer. I’ve worked closely with a company based in Budoni, Sardinia who have helped English speakers just like you find their dream home in paradise, and who have gone above and beyond their agent duties to make sure every last-minute detail is taken care of.

Immobiliare Orizzonte Casa Sardegna is the agent for you.

Bruno Pala is the owner and agent of Immobiliare Orizzonte Casa and is fluent in Italian and English. British born, he has over 15 years’ experience living, working and selling property from the coast to mountain towns in Sardinia.

He has successfully helped British buyers find their dream house and these buyers now call Sardinia home, all year round.

Immobiliare Orizzonte Casa Sardegna will help you:

Get your Italian tax code
Set up an Italian bank account
Will prepare for the purchase and sale of the home

I live on the Northwest coast of Sardinia and am totally biased to the emerald hues, red granite pillars of strength and the gracious hospitality from the Islanders. For the last six years, Sardinia has been my home, my sanctuary, my life force and the place my soul has found to rest.

She can also be yours.

Sardinia’s rugged, unspoilt coastlines are unforgettable moments you can make last a lifetime, and your first move is to decide where in the north you’d like to call home.

The two major airports in North Sardinia are Alghero and Olbia. Both are serviced by low-cost airlines and national carriers. The driving distance between the two airports is roughly 2 hours, but if you’re like me and stop to smell the roses, and you will here in paradise, the drive will be enjoyable.

North Sardinia by Jennifer Avventura My Sardinian Life 2014

North Sardinia’s Hot Property Spots

Budoni
Costa Paradiso
Golfo Aranci
Porto Cervo
San Teodoro
Santa Teresa di Gallura

There are no restrictions on foreign buyers and, as of January 1^st, 2014 the Italian resale tax on property has been lowered making this the time to buy your dream property in Sardinia.

What’s in your wallet is none of my business but expect to buy a property from €65,000 to €3 million; the latter price tag was bought by Roman Abramovich who last year bought a whopper of a villa in Costa Smeralda.

There are also plenty of moderately priced properties for sale with stunning views and mountainous terrain outside the glitz and glamour of the Emerald Coast in areas like:

Alghero
San Teodoro
Budoni

Now that you have decided to call Sardinia your home, why not give Immobiliare Orizzonte Casa Sardegna a call. I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed, you can even tell them that I sent you.

Bruno Pala – Agent & Owner
Orizzonte Casa Sardegna – Budoni
Via De Gasperi, 18 Budoni
Tel: +39 07841896176
Cel: +39 3932364058
email: orizzontecasasardegna@gmail.com
web: orizzontecasasardegna.com

Happy house hunting from our home to yours.

How to make mouth-watering meatballs from the mountains of Sardinia

Posted on November 30 by Jennifer Avventura

Sardinia is a culinary delight and nothing would please me more than to cook like the grandmothers who have baked and cooked for generations. The times I go walkabout, and it’s generally in the winter, the wafts of delightful delicacies that breeze through the crisp Mediterranean air leaves my mouth-watering and my stomach wanting the recipe.

My Italian language skills are decent enough to ask the women in the shops “Come fa le polpette?” They are more than eager to share the recipe from their grandmother’s kitchen, and I’ve taken their advice into my home and made it my own.

I’ve experimented with my meatballs and have come up with three different methods of cooking: bake, fry or add raw to tomato sauce. I’ve slowly improved and continue to ask the women in town for their advice. It’s a warm fuzzy friendship.

If you’ve followed this blog long enough, you will know that I don’t measure the ingredients, I eye-ball everything, plus, the leftovers always taste better the next day.

How to make mouth-watering meatballs

Ingredients:

400 grams ground beef (this makes about 4 meals for 2 adults in my home)
bread crumbs
1 egg
parsley
salt & pepper
The above ingredients are for your basic meatball, now let’s spice it up a bit.
finely chopped garlic, carrot, onion or zucchini
Adding too many ingredients takes away the intended flavour – keep it simple.

How to make meatballs in the oven:

Throw all ingredients together in a bowl and mix.
Use a tablespoon as measurement; ball together the beef mixture into the palm of your hand until round and slightly firm.
Roll meatball in bread crumbs and set in oven pan.
Set oven at 200.
Bake 25 minutes for medium size meatballs.
This is one of the healthiest options, I’ve made them in the oven several times and they were good, but dry.

How to fry meatballs:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
Use a tablespoon as measurement and ball mixture until round and slightly firm.
Roll meatball in bread crumbs and set aside.
Fill frying pan with desired oil and cook until golden brown; heat oil.
If you have tomato sauce you can add the meatballs now. Oh, and here, in the mountains of Sardinia we don’t pare meatballs with pasta, no, never, it’s not even talked about, trust me, I’ve tried.
Not so healthy this option but super delicious, as with all things fried.

How to make meatballs in tomato sauce:

Okay, we get the gist of making meatballs now, right?
Make your meatballs and add it your boiling tomato sauce.
Cook for 35-40 minutes, stir slowly on medium heat.
Want to know how to make tomato sauce like an Italian? That’s the link to my most popular post, be sure to read the comment section for more tips for a great tomato sauce.

I used to think it was gross to add raw meat to cooking tomato sauce, then one day a friend was over and we were chatting meatballs. He asked me how I made mine and I told him I fried them, then put them in tomato sauce. He looked at me quizzically and said “perche non metti direttamente nel sugo?” It was a good question and the following day I just did just that, and the meatballs turned out superb, I’ve made them like this ever since.

Happy Meatball making.

How do you make your meatballs? Share your recipe in the comment section below.

Meatballs on a Stick (posimagine.wordpress.com)
Off To Mama’s Meatballs (aakatzeff.wordpress.com)

How to overcome fear while traveling on the road

Posted on October 26 by Jennifer Avventura

There are a few things in life, for which I am deathly afraid of. My blood begins to boil at just the thought of seeing or being involved in one of these things. Here’s a quick Top 10 list of my fears.

My Top 10 Fears

10. Snakes
9. Cows
8. Horses
7. Goats
6. Anything with antlers
5. Being a passenger in a fast car
4. Bungee jumping
3. Big, long bridges
2. Heights
1. Drowning

Numbers 1-3 really freak my freak and as a traveler there are times you can’t get from A to B without crossing a bridge. In 2005 there was one bridge which I crossed in Brazil. I was going from Rio de Janeiro to Cabo Frio; it was a hot, three-hour bus ride from hell.

We had just turned a corner when I noticed a low bridge in the distance which covered a huge body of water. My first thought was that the bridge is too low, but maybe it’s better because I don’t like heights. I started to get anxious and my travel partner assured me that we would be okay. I kept envisioning the bus careening off the bridge into the water; I thought maybe the bus driver is having a bad day or life and today is his day to stop living and I thought about some crazed passenger seizing the bus and driving it into the huge body of water.

None of this happened – thankfully.

In 2007 I boarded a plane for Vancouver, British Columbia where I met up with an old roommate from Cayman Islands. It was just like old times – two friends reminiscing about the good times on Seven Mile Beach; laughing at silly tales of stealing Vespa’s and riding to Rum Point; drinking too many cocktails and riding our bicycles back home – those were the days.

My friend thought it would be a super idea to rent scooters for the day to scoot all over Vancouver’s lovely streets and parks, I eagerly agreed – even though I had never operated a scooter in my life, maybe it’s like riding a bike, I thought.

After a few spins around the Rent-A-Scooter parking lot, I was confident enough to hit the road. I followed my friends lead onto the busy roads, I felt a little vulnerable – the only protection was my helmet, I wished for a full body suit.

We scooted here and we scooted there. I yelled to my friend to slow down but for her, riding a scooter was like riding a bike – easy. I brought up the tail end when I noticed a King Kong sized bridge up ahead. I thought no waaaaaay! We are not – no, I am not going on that bridge.

I screamed out my friend’s name but she could not hear me – the traffic was increasing as were the transport trucks and the traffic lanes were doubling.

Oh dear me – she is crossing the bridge. Do I chicken out? What do I do? Mommy??? Is it legal to drive a scooter across this bridge? What if my scooter decides to do the funky dance over the railing and into the water? These were the thoughts crossing my mind.

Thankfully – none of the above happened.

Lion’s Gate Bridge – Vancouver, British Columbia

Source: Wikipedia

And me, in the Rent-A-Scooter parking lot, before the bridge.

In the span of three seconds, as I entered that bridge the top three things I’m deathly afraid of soon became a reality.

How do you overcome fear while on the road?

My advice is – Just do it! You won’t regret it.

I didn’t chicken out, I didn’t allow fear to stop me from experiencing the single most frighteningly fantastic event of my life. I did it!

How have you overcome fear while on the road?

Source: Lions Gate Bridge via Wikipedia

How to Make Tomato Sauce Like an Italian

Posted on March 20 by Jennifer Avventura

I always thought tomato sauce came from a can, jar or my Mother’s kitchen. It never occured to me that people took the time to make this savoury sauce from scratch and not poured from a can. I can proudly say that I have finally mastered the fine art of Italian tomato sauce, and with all good Italian things, one requires patience and persistence.

If this is your first time making tomato sauce, I wish you luck and I hope my step-by-step photo guide helps.

I love Italian cooking and eating. I am a Canadian, who learned the fine art of Italian tomato sauce by trial and error, and a lot of questions. And this is what I came up with, I hope you enjoy.

How to Make Tomato Sauce Like an Italian

Continue reading →

How to Hunt for Wild Sardinian Asparagus

Posted on March 9 by Jennifer Avventura

Three and a half years ago I went on my first asparagus hunting excursion, it was painful. I came home with squinty eyes and a headache and vowed never to do it again.

The first few years was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I actually detested going out, but that waned with each new dish prepared. Now, I am a pro. Yes, a pro-asparagus hunter and I love each moment.

Follow me on a voyage to hunt for one of Sardinia’s wild vegetables.