I like to cook and eat and make fabulous food. It was not always like that.
When I first met my husband we ate out all time. ( read about a few things about Charlie here = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Francis . btw. Wiki touches on one minuscule aspect of Charlie the man. Please read Speed Trap if you care enough to understand something beyond politics)
As a young woman from a small town I felt I won the lottery eating out with my then boyfriend. By the end of a 2 weeks period of eating out every day, everything started to taste the same. I was so frustrated having to go out all the time for food, the process of getting organized to cook was easy. I learned the basics fast and enjoyed having fun in the kitchen.
Growing up with fresh , seasonal and naturally raised fruits and vegetables from my fathers garden, set a template for what food was supposed to taste like. Having an interested audience when you learn to cook never hurts. Making homemade meals are fun to share with those you love.
As a former athlete I have always been interested in food and nutrition. I thought knowing and living with the one of the best coaches in the word meant instant sharing of knowledge regarding performance foods. It’s not really how it turned out. I researched food and learned as much as I could about cooking , eating well and balancing a diet for a person's best performance. My education has continued as my life has changed and my family grows up.
I’ve already shared one of my big hit recipes with you here.
http://www.charliefrancis.com/blogs/news/15754068-anges-tuna-salad-with-a-punch
Today, I’d like to add another one that is not protein based.( Marinara Sauce , see below). If you are interested in seeing some additional info on cooking fabulous food for your training, take a look at a real time video outlining some food prep as well as the beginning steps of becoming a serious athlete.
http://www.charliefrancis.com/collections/videos/products/jane-project-downloadable-format
Protein has always been a huge driver of my meals but as I gain more insight into food that work for me, combining high protein with fabulous vegetable based foods adds fiber , nutrients and interesting flavors. There is no down side to eating well and learning more about what you eat.
If you are interested in learning more about how to cook at home and why home cooking is important, I recently reviewed this online class which I thought was fantastic.
https://www.coursera.org/learn/childnutrition/outline
Bon Appetite, plus I wish you happy fuel for your training with homemade food . Don’t be afraid to try new things.
Angé
Some tips and comments about cooking at home.
When I cook something new I like to see what Martha Stewart does. I generally don’t use her recipes but I do look at her ideas.
She does a super simple tomato sauce I love. Heat up olive oil as the water for your pasta cooks. Sautee some chopped garlic at low enough heat you don’t burn your garlic as it will be bitter. Slice what ever tomatoes you have and add them just before or just after you strain your noodles. Add sea salt as you toss your noodles with the easy, low effort and fresh tasting sauce. Remember, your sauce will only be as good as the tomatoes you add to it. When I make this I generally use the small , cherry tomatoes with the biggest flavor. Delicious.
read more about how MS likes to do things = http://www.marthastewart.com/cook
http://www.giadadelaurentiis.com/recipes/
( From “Everyday Italian “ Giada de Laurentiis)
I love this the ideas in Giada’s book. Again, I don’t always follow everything to the letter but I use her information to expand my recipe to what I want it to be.
Marinara Sauce ( this is the recipe I wanted to share with you).
½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 small onions chopped finely
2 gloves of garlic or more
2 celery stalks chopped finely
2 carrots chopped finely and if they are fresh I do not peel them
½ teaspoon of sea salt or specialty salt . I rarely cook with table salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cans of crushed or whole tomatoes ( use the best brand you can find)
2 dry bay leaves.
In a large pot , slowly sauté everything minus the tomatoes. It will take about 10 minutes more or less to achieve the translucent quality you want from the onions mixture.
Add the tomatoes after that and cook on low to medium heat with lid off for about 30 to 60 minutes. Ideally , the sauce is best the next day but I sometimes use it as soon as 20 to 30 minutes after making it.
If you want special occasion DELICIOUS. = add one cup vodka and cook for 20 minutes to burn off the alcohol. Then add one cup full fat cream ( preferably organic cream) , and ½ cup parmesan cheese.
You can use this sauce with your poached or fried or boiled eggs in the morning. You can dip pita bread into this sauce. It goes amazingly well with pork tenderloin or chicken or pizza. You can add any shape of noodles and share a double batch of this sauce with someone you care about.