Families. They challenge us. They shape us. They define us. Here in Ontario, Canada, we’re celebrating Family Day today. Although not a statutory holiday, Family Day was originally created to give people a day off to spend with their families because of the long period of time between New Year’s Day and Good Friday. Common Family Day activities include skating, playing hockey, snowboarding/skiing, snow shoeing, and going to various winter festivals. So I figured, after a day spent doing fun things with your family, there’s nothing better than coming home to a big crock pot of homemade savory sausage soup!
What you Need:
1½ pounds sweet Italian sausage
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 small onions, chopped
2 (16 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
1¼ cups dry red wine
5 cups beef broth
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 zucchini, sliced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 (16 ounce) package spinach fettuccine pasta (or plain, whatever your heart desires)
Salt and pepper to taste
What you Do:
IN a large pot, cook sausage over medium heat until brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels. Drain fat from pan, reserving 3 tablespoons. If desired, instead of ground sausage, cut sausages in thin slices.
COOK garlic and onion in reserved fat for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, wine, broth, basil, and oregano. Transfer to a slow cooker, and stir in sausage, zucchini, bell pepper, and parsley.
COVER, and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours.
BRING pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Break pasta into smaller pieces, then cook in boiling water until al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain water, and add pasta to slow cooker. Simmer for a few minutes, and season with salt and pepper before serving.
SERVE topped with grated parmesan.
This is a fantastic soup to serve to your crew, and freezes well. Salad, hard rolls, and wine (red or white) complete this meal! You can make it 24 hours ahead of time without the noodles and wait to add noodles until soup is reheated for serving. Whatever you decide to do this Family Day (or any other holiday), enjoy your time with your loved ones, and cherish the memories you create! Cheers and thank you for reading my blog!
This past August, I was privileged to take part in one of my sister-in-law’s (SIL) revered family traditions: making tomato sauce. Oh the carnage, the mess, the bloodbath! Of course, I’m talking about all the prep work that goes into making my SIL’s secret family tomato sauce. No worries, SIL. I won’t divulge your mother’s sacred recipe—only what I’ve learned from participating in such a fun, family ritual.
First, like writing a book, making tomato sauce requires a whole lot of preparation! There are the tomato bushels to order and pick up. Get the equipment out. Setting up the equipment and tables. Scheduling family members. Buying tomato paste and spices. I tell you it’s a first-class production!
Second, delegation is the key. I looked at this entire operation through the eyes of an author and thought how genius my SIL is. She stationed certain family members for washing the tomatoes (as a newbie, I got to help my nephew with that job). Other family and drop-by neighbors (poor buggers) were commissioned to cut up the tomatoes into quarters. Then, once a few bushels were filled up with severed tomatoes (I know, sounds horrific), they’re placed in a grinder that separates the skins and seeds from the juice, which flows into a large pot set on a propane burner.
Third, once the pot is full (four fingers from the top—believe me this is a science), the burner is lit, and the tomato juice has to come to a rapid boil.
Fourth, once the juice boils, the secret ingredients must be added. This is my niece’s specialty, and she has this down to an art. And if I spill the beans here, she will hunt me down, and squish me like one of those poor tomatoes. Yikes! After the said ‘secret ingredients’ are in the pot, the tomato juice must be set to boil for 45 minutes.
Fifth, a small pot of tomato juice is scooped out of the large pot after the 45 minutes has expired, then placed into another pot with about two large scoops of tomato paste. This concoction is mixed together and placed back into the large, boiling pot. This is akin to editing, rewriting, editing, and rewriting until the author is happy with the story. It’s the process that solidifies the sauce (or in my case, story).
Sixth, finally comes the jarring. Honestly, it’s like being on a production line. SIL stands ready with a jar while my brother pours the sauce into a one liter jar. She quickly puts a lid on it, turns the jar upside down, and goes on to the next jar until the whole pot is emptied. They usually make about 4 pots which fills 50 jars per pot. Wow, that’s a whole lotta sauce!
The whole tomato sauce ordeal takes about twelve hours (not counting prep time) and is a hell of a lot of work. So the question I pose to you is, was this family tradition worth the time, energy, and effort? YOU BET IT WAS! Not only did we make enough tomato sauce to carry three to four households over the year, but we were TOGETHER the entire day. Other then holidays and celebrations, how often does that happen in this day and age?
Family traditions, no matter what they are comprised of, keep the bloodline going long after the older generation have gone. Part of what has been passed along flows to the next generation, and hopefully the next one, and the next. And that is one of the reasons why I write books—to pass on what I’ve learned and experienced from my family and from my life.
Do you have any long-standing family traditions you participate in? Or have you started a new one? Love to hear your comments. Cheers and thanks for reading my blog!
By Kakie Fitzsimmons
A few weeks back my son and I went to the Stone Arch Bridge Festival for the Arts near downtown Minneapolis. We came across this board and started to work on it. 45 minutes later, here is what we created.
I took the picture because it was something we did together and we can [...]
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[...] This post by Kakie Fitzsimmons I loved, as a mom, as a human, and just because it was neat! She talks about how Magnet Poetry brings people together. [...]
Thanks for the great comment Jenn, it means a great deal to me that you enjoyed it. Blessings!
The Best of Me Symphony blog carnival presents Magnet word poetry pulls a family together posted at Bur Bur and Friends: Community Park saying: They say “an artists work is never done” so is that really okay? See how one mother and son created a work of art to call their own and what they learned from it.”
WOW! I had never experienced this before. I am a Preschool teacher and will definitely use this technique with my children (a parent child activity to celebrate their unique relationships)!! I love that it shows that its ok that we are not perfect..no one is perfect. I also love that it is an activity that “pulls” a family together!!!
Life’s Victories Carnival…
Let’s talk about victory and celebrating our victories. I honestly get tired of seeing all the negative things the world promotes through the news media and even commercials. It seems to me we need to develop a positive news network. I would rather hear about people who believe to achieve
Our family used to LOVE sitting at the table and writing stuff with our magnetic poetry! We would do them on the back of a cookie sheet and then transfer the good ones to the fridge. I miss those days. Thanks for the reminder!
~RM2
I’ve never tried magnetic poetry. I enjoyed hearing about it. When we moved our 3 sons to a Caribbean Island off Belize, we spent many hours simply talking, since we didn’t have TV, and the electricity turned off several times a week. Amazing how “freeing” it was to live without outside entertainment.
Hi Gutsy Rider, thank you for sharing your story and reading our blog. I bet you have many great stories!
Renegade Moms, that is a great idea. I just may have to implement it!
Magnetic poetry rocks! Eventually though, we permanently retired the wee little tiles of magical-words-that-spark-creativity because our kids became teenagers and the poetry became…a tad more frightening in nature. You’ll know when it’s time, but until then, enjoy the fun!
Hi Caroline, doesn’t it seem like the time goes so quickly? Sometimes it feels like I blink and they are another 4 inches taller. Thank you for reading our blog, we hope to hear from you again!