Monday, October 26, 2015

Baffling Tomato Sauce & Tomato Sauce With Olives and Capers

Pot of Tomato Sauce
Tomato Sauce


What's Ingredients Are In Tomato Sauce

Food labels always baffle me. You think you understand them but, like a good mystery novel, the unexpected always happens. For instance, I noticed a can of Hunt’s Tomato Sauce boasting a ‘Fat Free’ Status. Funny I thought, I never knew tomatoes contained fat—unless of course there is a new hybrid tomato laden with fat. Which you never know, food scientists are doing some funky things these days, like growing ground beef in a petri dish as recently reported in the National Geographic.

I just presumed tomato sauce was simply tomatoes mushed-up with a little water, like tomato juice but thicker. But on reading the ingredient list I noticed cottonseed oil, which sounds like a fat. Right? So how can it be “fat free”?

I phoned up Hunt’s and asked. They told me the cottonseed oil is used as a preservative and as the amount is so small, they don’t list it on the Nutrition Facts Label. According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency website, “Fat Free” means less than .05 grams of fat per serving size which, in this case, is half a cup.

So, technically it’s fat free. However, why should tomato sauce claim to be fat free in the first place?

My tomato sauce curiosity was piqued so I purchased three other brands and, although neither contained cottonseed oil or claimed to be ‘fat free,’ they all had other self-proclaimed attributes. By the way, cottonseed oil comes from the seeds of a cotton plant, which is not a vegetable (we wear cotton, we don’t eat it). One boasted “Source of Vitamin A.” the other, “Low Sodium” and the last one was a proud “product of Italy.” All four had different ingredients and nutritional facts listed. Purchasing tomato sauce turned out to be a true puzzle. It is no wonder labels and products baffle me.


Bowl of tomato sauce.
Tomato sauce with olives, capers and Parmesan cheese


Tomato Sauce with Olives and Capers

Serve with a green salad and baguette

Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup black olives, pitted and halved
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 (28 oz/796ml can diced tomatoes)
1 (213 ml) can tomato sauce
¼ cup red wine (optional)
black pepper, to taste
Parmesan Cheese, grated
454 grams dried pasta, cooked according to package directions

In a medium-large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic. Sauté for 4 minutes. 

Reduce the heat to medium and add the olives, capers, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes and sauté 1 minute. Add tomatoes, sauce, and red wine. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until reduced slightly, about 20 minutes. 

 Serve on top of cooked pasta. Pass the pepper and grated Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top.

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How Food Packaging is Misleading

Friday, October 23, 2015

Granola

Sign that reads "hippies please use the back door"
Hippies highlighted granola
Granola is often referred to as hippy food. Could it be because it’s simple, sweet and a little nutty?  Not really, it is because these free spirited souls highlighted granola in the 60’s.  It was considered controversial because it was radically ‘natural’.  Often made from scratch contrary to the highly processed breakfast cereal readily available in the day.   Although  Recipes to the Rescue was not around in the 60’s we did publish a granola recipe back in the late 90’s  which my friend Sandy has been making ever since. She recently wrote and asked for an updated version because the recipe required milk powder which is both expensive and hard to find today.  So we have refreshed the recipe and made it simple, tasty and not too controversial.  Enjoy.




Granola
Granola

Groovy Granola


6 cups large oats
½ cup sliced almonds
½ cups walnuts
½ cup pecans
¼ cup unsalted sunflower seeds
¼ cup unhulled sesame seeds
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup honey
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.


Combine all ingredients into a large bowl except the raisins.  Mix really well.  Line a large rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Pour granola out on cookie sheet, place in oven and cook stirring every 10 minutes for 30 minutes, until nicely toasted.  Remove from the oven and stir in the raisins.