Dinner last night

LOML had invited Boo's friend B and his mother over for dinner (his father was unfortunately off at work), and we gave her the choice of what to eat: pork chops or pasta and sauce. Since she'd had pork chops recently, we went with pasta. No, not homemade pasta. Yes I make my own pasta. No, not every time. And especially when I am getting others' children to eat, I'll buy shells. So that's what I did.
The sauce I made on Sunday afternoon --- so it had had a good chance to meld nicely, and the fresh basil I added at the end freshened and perked it up beautifully.
Lovely.

Tomorrow, we'll use the rest of the sauce for a lasagna, together with homemade cheese, assuming I have the energy (I think that I will!)

The pasta sauce:
2 medium onions, finely diced
Several stalks of celery, finely diced
2 red bell peppers diced
Several cloves of garlic
A little olive oil for sauteing
1 - 1 1/2 lb ground beef
Several cups diced ripe tomatoes
Couple of cups of sliced mushrooms
1/2 - 1 cup red wine
Oregano (fresh or dried)
Bay leaves
Marjoram (if you like)
Lots of pesto
Lots of fresh basil
Salt, pepper to taste
A little crushed hot red pepper if desired.

Assemble in the obvious fashion.

Okay, if you insist, I'll tell you: saute the onions in the oil for a few minutes: add the celery, peppers, garlic and continue to cook over medium heat for a few more minutes. Add the ground beef, and over higher heat, cook until brown. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, wine, herbs (except basil) and pesto. Simmer covered for at least an hour. Several hours is fine. Just before serving, make a chiffonade of the basil and stir it in. Serve over pasta, with freshly grated parmesan (not from a tub or jar, please!) Serve with garlic bread, and it is a feast.

I really like this to have a really really powerful basil flavour: others may like it less strong!

Yours, saucily,
N.

ps chiffonade of basil: roll the leaves up like little cigars, and slice thin strips off. Yes, it's a $50 word. Feel free to use it (send the $50 to me, c/o YeastAndGluten.blogspot.com)