Cookerrific Weekend

After a somewhat dismal working Saturday, in which not much work got done, and a mediocre capellini carbonara with chard was made (note to self, for the second time - Jamie Oliver's carbonara recipe ends up too dry. Needs to be more saucy. Especially with high-surface-area pastas!), I went all out on Sunday.

We began with the tomatoes.

Rinse and cut in half, longways, 5 lbs Roma tomatoes. Simmer them for 10 min and cook them down gently for an hour and a half.

(During this time, we started the pork stock)

Run tomatoes through a food mill (THANKS MOM AND DAD!) to remove skins and seeds. Rinse the pot and add 1 1/4 cups olive oil (yes you heard that right. Remember, olive oil is healthy!). Add 3/4 c minced onion and cook till translucent, then add 3/4 cup tiny diced carrots. And celery if you can stand it; I cannot. After a minute add back the tomato puree and 5 tsp salt, and 3/4 tsp sugar. Stir, cook for 20 min.

Freeze for winter.

Pork Stock!

First, roast a pig. Or find roasted pig bones. We had leftover a side of ribs, the pelvis, and some other bones. Put these in your stockpot with a couple halved onions, skin on, a leek, halved, one huge carrot, split, a head of garlic, split, skin on, parsley stems, peppercorns, celery (if you can stand it), bay leaf. Cover with water and simmer for 4-5 hours. Skim. "I say again, skim." Then toss all your bones etc and strain the stock. Let cool and remove some of the fat. Freeze for winter, reserving 4 cups for....

Lima Bean Soup!

Cook 5-6 slices bacon till crispy, remove and crumble. Cook 3 leeks, split lengthwise and sliced fine, gently in the fat for 5-10 minutes, or until soft and pliant. Dump, unceremoniously, 1 pound fresh lima beans into the pot and add 4 cups pork stock or until beans are covered, plus a little more. Cook for 10-30 minutes or until lima beans are tender to your liking. Blend with a stick blender or with some other appliance until creamy. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with the bacon crumbles and snipped chives. So delicious, you will fight your dear spouse for the right to eat the last serving for lunch the next day. But you will win, because you made it.

I didn't forget dessert.

Salted-Butter Caramel Ice Cream.

Use David Lebowitz's recipe.

Watch sadly as the batter turns round and round in the mixer without freezing up.

Pour out batter and re-chill; set fridge and freezer to be colder in hopes of a better outcome on Tuesday.