"But actually it isn't all that difficult to know the approved ones as there are so few of them for spaghetti sauce since it is a low acid product. NCHFP/USDA publications, which includes the ones in So Easy to Preserve, and those in the Ball/Bernardin books. That's it. There aren't any in Small Batch Preserving." Well, it may not call itself spaghetti sauce, but there is "Chunky Basil Pasta Sauce" with fresh herbs and veges in Small Batch Preserving, and also "Roasted Vegetable Pasta Sauce" with both veges and fresh herbs in Small Batch Preserving, and also "Seasoned Tomato Sauce" with veges and fresh herbs that Small Batch Preserving suggests using in "pasta sauces, soups, stews, pizza, or casseroles." So, although the OP did leave the door open to reasonable questions about recipe safety, it is also good to take care in making broad statements about recipes which include such phrases as "there are no recipes which. . .", or "all approved recipes for (pasta sauce, salsa, whatever) MUST be. . ." since there may well be a safe recipe which allows such processing. For example: you CAN use fresh herbs in the approved NCHFP spaghetti sauce recipe, as this email from Elizabeth Andress states: Thank you for visiting the National Center for Home Food Preservation. > question -> Spaghetti Sauce without Meat: > 1. Can I eliminate the celery/peppers completely? > 2. Can I use fresh herbs or only dried? > 3. Can I add basil (fresh or dried)? > 4. Can I eliminate the sugar? For our particular procedures: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_03/spaghetti_sauce.html You can leave out the celery and peppers completely, leaving everything else the same. (The mushrooms are already optional, also.) If you use fresh herbs, make sure they are very clean. I can only recommend using the equivalent volume measures, though, and that may not give you the flavor you desire. Eg., instead of 2 TBSP dried oregano, use 2 TBSP minced fresh oregano. I do not have enough information to know the upper limit on how much fresh to add, so that's all I can suggest without testing. (which we cannot do). You can use basil as a substitute for one of the other herbs (eg, you may not want the parsley with basil). Or, if you are leaving out the celery and peppers completely, you could add 2 to 4 TBSP of basil. Yes, you can eliminate the sugar in this recipe. The chopped celery and/or peppers and the sugar add a little moisture/liquid in many recipes. In this particular sauce, however, it is cooked down to thickened consistency anyway, so the amount of liquid that would be added by these ingredients would not be important as it might be in other types of food products/mixtures. Best wishes, Elizabeth Andress -------------------------------------- Elizabeth L. Andress, Ph.D. Project Director, National Center for HFP Professor and Extension Food Safety Specialist Department of Foods and Nutrition The University of Georgia 208 Hoke Smith Annex Athens, GA 30602-4356 Phone: (706) 542-3773 FAX: (706) 542-1979 -----------------------------------------------

Yes, these were men who made the decision to do pot luck. and likely the one woman on the board who always buys something to take to a pot luck because she doesn't cook....at all! Last night another woman asked me why they didn't want us to cook....I told her that XXX just didn't want to....she said "you know I really don't think he's very smart"...LOL! The only ones for whom pot luck will be cheaper is those with 2 or 3 kids. So the way this will go is....people will bring a dish when they come to church. Church is at 10:30 but Sunday School is at 9:30 and we have 2 very active adult Sunday School classes and choir practise early. So the kitchen help (not me!!!!) will strive to keep hot dishes hot and cold ones cold for 2 1/2 to 3 hours and then put it all out on the table at noon.....which means there won't be much that I will want to risk eating but rolls and jello salad....because I know if that has been kept cold, because it won't be melted!! I exaggerate a little, but the will be several versions of corn pudding, which I won't eat when I don't know how it's been stored, greenbean casserole...yuk!...several chicken, canned soup and noodles things....which I won't eat unless I know it didn't sit out too long. But I can always eat pie! Unless it's a custard pie....and cake!!...Oh and cookies! So I won't go hungry!

Here is a picture of the Korean fish sauce that I have. The ingredients are shrimp, salt, water, and MSG. It is gray, cloudy, and thick, and I only just opened it. I bought it in Korea Town because I wanted to make kimchi but haven't gotten around to it yet. I also have the Korean chili that I've been using for other dishes. The other fish sauce I have is Roland Brand Fish Sauce (Nam Pla) made in Thailand. A 6.76oz. (200mL) bottle cost $1.98 at Bay Cities Deli in Santa Monica. The ingredients are anchovies, salt, sugar, and water. The label is also marked "No MSG". This is the brand that I use most of the time, but I think I will look for the Squid brand and Three Crabs, although I really don't like for it to be too sweet. After reading Fish Sauce Emergency, I decided to skip the Squid brand and buy Three Crabs at Surfas. Lars

* Posted by ruthanna (My Page) on Tue, Jan 19, 10 at 10:22 Another spinach lover here. We most often cook it the way Althetrainer mentioned, sauteed with garlic. I often buy the spinach pies at our Middle Eastern bakery but have never made them at home. Since I rarely buy tomatoes out of season, we eat a lot of spinach salads during the winter. I’ve posted this one before. It’s on the lighter side and a good complement to heavy dishes like lasagne. LEMON SPINACH SALAD 1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms 1 lb. young spinach leaves, washed and stemmed 6 Tbs. olive oil 2 Tbs. lemon juice 1/4 tsp. salt 1 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese 1 clove garlic, slivered Finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon 1 hard cooked egg Freshly ground black pepper Wash mushrooms and combine with spinach. Chill. Mix oil, lemon juice, salt, cheese and garlic. Chop up egg and sprinkle over salad. Add lemon rind to salad and grind pepper on top. Pour dressing over salad right before serving and toss. Note: Best if dressing is made about an hour ahead of time and garlic pieces removed before pouring on salad. Crumbled bacon pieces can be added if desired. ------------ Vegetable timbales have always been one of our family favorites for meatless meals. It’s common to find recipes for them in early 20th century cookbooks. Photobucket SPINACH TIMBALES 2 (10 oz.) packages frozen chopped spinach 4 eggs 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 cup butter, softened 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice Cheese or hollandaise sauce, if desired Cook spinach according to package directions; drain thoroughly. In small mixer bowl, beat eggs until foamy. Stir in cooked spinach and remaining ingredients except sauce. Divide mixture between 5 greased 6 oz. custard cups. Place cups on a rack in a 10" pot or deep skillet. Fill skillet with hot (not boiling) water to 1/2". Put a loose piece of foil over the cups, shaped so that the steam drips back into the pot instead of on the custard cups. Cover with lid and cook over medium heat for 18 to 22 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Loosen edges with knife; unmold. If desired, serve with sauce. Makes 5 (1/2 cup) servings. o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by annie1992 (My Page) on Tue, Jan 19, 10 at 11:33 Elery and I even made AND ate spinach this weekend, we did individual spinach and swiss cheese quiches for the "appetizer tasting". They were fast and easy and we did them without crust in mini muffin pans. Annie o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by bob_cville (My Page) on Tue, Jan 19, 10 at 14:46 beanthere_dunthat, The mint chutney that I usually use is a dark green runny paste. If you have a Coconut-mint chutney that you like then I'd substitute that for both the mango chutney and the mint chutney. A more authentic version of this recipe I came across started with making your own cheese. Yeah I'll get right on that. I found a mexican farmer's cheese at one local grocery store that was more like the "paneer" that is typically used, but to me the Feta cheese is pretty similar in in texture and "bite" in the dish, and although the Feta is much more strongly flavored than then usual "paneer", there are enough other strong flavors in the dish that you really don't notice it, and it is much easier to find feta than "paneer" or mexican farmers cheese. o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by denise8101214 (My Page) on Sat, Jan 23, 10 at 15:49 I got this from a friend who got it from epicurious. I have made it MANY times and everyone loves it. It is nice to make for a big family breakfast as a savory casserole in addition to the french toast type ones. Spinach and Cheese Strata, epicurious * 1 (10-oz) package frozen spinach, thawed (fresh works great too) * 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion (1 large) * 3 tablespoons unsalted butter * 1 teaspoon salt * 1/2 teaspoon black pepper * 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg * 8 cups cubed (1 inch) French or Italian bread (1/2 lb) * 6 oz coarsely grated Gruyère (2 cups) * 2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup) * 2 3/4 cups milk * 9 large eggs * 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard Squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then finely chop. Cook onion in butter in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in spinach, then remove from heat. Spread one third of bread cubes in a buttered 3-quart gratin dish or other shallow ceramic baking dish and top evenly with one third of spinach mixture. Sprinkle with one third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice (ending with cheeses). Whisk together milk, eggs, mustard, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Chill strata, covered with plastic wrap, at least 8 hours (for bread to absorb custard). Preheat oven to 350°F. Let strata stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Bake strata, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Strata can be chilled up to 1 day. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before baking. Here is a link that might be useful: Spinach and Cheese Strata o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Sun, Jan 24, 10 at 19:45 There's some pretty tasty recipes here! I don't do spinach, so I couldn't help much. Maybe I'll give it a try again....in the next 7 years. Then again.... I just drew a name for the next Cookalong... Caliloo (Alexa) hope you can pick something fast, so I can get it started, I have to leave town for a few days tomorrow. Nancy o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Sun, Jan 24, 10 at 22:00 Caliloo?? o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Mon, Jan 25, 10 at 7:22 TTT o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by caliloo (My Page) on Mon, Jan 25, 10 at 7:46 Here I am! I actually already got to pick something (corn last time) so if I can have a second shot I will choose...... BROCCOLI! However, if you want to give someone else a turn to pick, I will certainly withdraw my suggestion :-) Alexa o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by wizardnm (My Page) on Mon, Jan 25, 10 at 9:07 Alexa, I drew your name fair and square so you are on! **********Broccoli*************** Nancy Here is a link that might be useful: Cookalong #20-----BROCCOLI o RE: Cookalong #19-------SPINACH clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by sally2 (My Page) on Mon, Jan 25, 10 at 10:02 Well, I almost didn't do spinach last night, because I've been eating spinach almost every day, and want to branch out into other veggies. But I decided to just try something different than what I usually do, which is spinach salad, or throwing a handful or two of spinach into whatever soup I'm heating up. So, I made spinach pesto. I used a basic basil pesto recipe as a template, but changed the ingredients quite a bit, keeping with the general idea of pesto. It turned out quite good, and even DH liked it. He says he doesn't like garlic with spinach (go figure) so I wasn't sure if he'd like this, but he loved it. I used 2 cloves of garlic, but I think one fat one would have been better - it was a bit strong. I'll write out the recipe as I made it, though. My recipe is adapted from Deborah Madison's recipe for Pesto, from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Spinach and Goat Cheese Pesto 1 or 2 plump garlic cloves salt 3 tablespoons (or small handfuls) of walnuts 3 big handfuls (or cups, loosely packed) of fresh spinach 1 4 oz. package goat cheese 2 tablespoons pecorino Romano (optional, to taste) 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 squeeze, aprox. 1 teaspoon lemon juice pinch cayenne pinch freshly ground nutmeg In a food processor, process the garlic, salt and walnuts until fairly finely chopped, then add the spinach and olive oil. When smooth, add the goat cheese, lemon juice, cayenne and nutmeg, and process to combine. Sally