Lynn - It's the Fratelli's!

When we got back from the beach yesterday Abe and I did some cleaning. I like to start off the week with an orderly house, y'know?!

A post-tidying/pre-walk snack:

Doctor Kracker sent us a bunch of their flatbreads to try. Having autumn on the brain, I had to open the Pumpkin Seed Cheddar.

Yup, I can pronounce these:

With a glass of Sodastream seltzer and an orange tootsie pop (which I wound up licking half of)...

Dr. Kracker really rocks. Both Abe and I thought the flavors were perfectly balanced. We really enjoyed the crunch/thick texture and agreed that it tasted sophisticated - I can totally see myself putting these out to entertain with some spreads/dips/cheese. The founder, George Eckrich, obviously knows what he's doing - he has a new website about bread-making that all you bakers should check out.

For dinner we sampled one of the other goodies we were sent this past week, from Dei Fratelli:

I've never had a canned tomato sauce before (I grew up a in a jar-centric household) so I was very curious to see how it would turn out.

A nice simple ingredient list:

I couldn't help but think of The Fratellis from one of my all-time favorite movies, "The Goonies" - especially the scene where they threaten to blend Chunk's hand and demonstrate with a tomato.

Chunk-y Pasta (serves 4)

• 1/2 1 lb. bag of organic whole wheat rotini pasta
• 1 28 oz. can Dei Fratelli tomato sauce
• 1 bag frozen organic spinach - defrosted and water squeezed out
• 24 Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs
• 1 shallot and 4 cloves garlic, chopped finely

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. In the meantime, saute shallots and garlic in a large pan until browned, then add tomato sauce, meatballs, and spinach. Simmer sauce while the pasta cooks -

Drain the rotini a few minutes shy of al dente. Add pasta to the sauce with a ladle of pasta water and finish cooking through for another few minutes.

Is there anything more comforting than a big bowl of pasta?

I was pretty impressed with the canned sauce - it didn't taste tinny at all, and was very robust and thick. I'm looking forward to making recipes from Dei Fratelli's no-sugar/salt added crushed tomatoes, and trying their jarred sauces to see how they compare.

After dinner I finished off the other half of my tootsie...

...and right before bed I made myself a hot chocolate by combining 2 tsp. organic unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tsp. Erythritol with a splash of boiled water to make a syrup; then adding 3/4 cup warmed organic rice milk and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Totally hit the spot - except the syrup residue left a funny tickle in the back of my throat afterward. I chewed on a piece of gum before flossing and brushing my teeth.

Now I have a bunch of quotes from "The Goonies" running through my head.

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