MeHi.  My name is Mark and this is my cooking blog.

I get asked a lot for my recipes, so I decided to start this cooking blog.  What you’ll find here will be my recipes and my variations on others’ recipes, my cooking tips and who knows what else. 

I should say up front that I’m lactose intolerant (check out my lactose intolerance site www.nowhey.org) and I also try to live a low-carb lifestyle.  So the recipes you’ll find here will generally be devoid of milk and milk products and try, wherever possible, to be low in carbs.

I hope you enjoy the site and the recipes.

Mark

Main Dishes28 Aug 2011 07:56 pm

This is a modified version of the Chicken Ratatouille recipe that I published some time ago.  Since then, my daughter (Rebecca)  has been living with us and she doesn’t like mushrooms and doesn’t eat much meat.  I also recently needed to make a version that was vegetarian.  My wife and daughter also liked the more intense tomato flavor in Mark’s Chunky Red Sauce, so this is the resulting recipe.

Ingredients:
(serves 4-8)

1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (or 6-8 fresh ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced)
1 6 oz can of tomato paste
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Italian seasoning blend
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 to 3 tbs sugar (to taste – I like it sweeter so I use 3 tbs)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, fine diced
2 medium Zucchini, sliced
1 large Chinese Eggplant (the long thin light purple kind), sliced
1 Green or Red Pepper, cored and sliced into 1×1″ pieces
1/4 cup sweet marsala wine
1 tbs olive oil

In a large (4 qt at least) pan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and heat until good and hot.  Add the onions and sauté until they are starting to brown and turn translucent.  Add the balsamic vinegar and stir until the onions are well coated.  Add the ground pepper, Italian seasonings and garlic and stir for about 1 minute to release the aromatics.  Add the marsala and deglaze the pan.  Now add in peppers, stir and continue to cook for about five minutes.  Next add the squash, eggplant, tomatoes and tomato paste and stir well to make sure the paste is well distributed.  Add the salt and sugar and stir in well.  Heat until the mixture is just bubbling then turn the heat down to low and cover.  Let simmer for 30 minutes then uncover and stir.  Cook for another 10-15 minutes on low to reduce the sauce.  Serve and enjoy!