Gallery Opening (Almost) Over: Must Be Time to Boil Water

Last night was a “put a pot of boiling water on the minute you come in the door” kind of night. I had taken Nina and Pinta to the opening of “Eat/Art,” at the Atlantic Gallery, where I have three drawings on exhibition,  but my anxiety about a looming work deadline combined with Santa Maria’s exhaustion from a lack of sleep the night before and the children’s general state of fussiness because of lingering head colds (see lack of sleep, above), had me hightailing it out of the gallery well before the opening was over.

We got home and needed to eat. I had thought that I’d be out late, and consequently hadn’t really planned  anything. The pot of boiling water is a good anchor in times like that, and sure enough, I decided on a simple dish of pasta and jar sauce, supplemented by super-quick Hot Robot Spinach.

A friend of mine recently gave me a jar of Victoria marinara sauce, after reading in a post of mine about how  hard it is to find sugar-free commercial sauces. She said it was an old favorite of hers. I’d been holding onto it for a situation like the one last night. The sauce is clean and fresh tasting. It is quite delicious, and apparently made right here in Brooklyn. I'll be looking for more soon, I'm sure.

Comments

[Mark Scarbrough]

I'd be hard pressed to tell you how much we look for pasta sauces with 1) no added sugar (aren't tomatoes sweet?), 2) no added thickeners, and 3) a lower chemical signature. It's always a quest--and since these things hang on a profit margin of zip, they go in and out of business with shocking abandon. Thanks for suggesting another.

[john]

Mark,

I haven't looked closely at the label for thickeners and/or other chemicals, but if my memory serves me correctly, the sauce seems to be made from ingredients one would use in their own home, ones that are easy to spell and pronounce, if you know what I mean.

Also, this company has been around since 1929, apparently, and they appear to have recently introduced a line of organic sauces, so my guess is that they'll be in business for another seven decades or so.

[Gita]

Have not seen this Victoria label here on the West Coast , maybe I should look harder. Wow if they have been in the business long enough, they will survive more in this world of organic and what have you....

[santa maria]

victoria contains: imported italian tomatoes, pure italian olive oil, fresh onions, fresh basil, fresh garlic, sea salt, spices.

this is verbatim from the label.

from santa maria

[john]

Gita,

Not sure they distribute on the West Coast. Maybe check their website. I think it has a list of places where it is sold. Oh, and I noticed it's available on Amazon, so you can probably get it on the moon.

[Gita]

Cool!! Delighted to hear from you!

[John]

Not very fancy, but we've been buying Ragu Light (http://www.ragu.com/index.php/lightbasil ), which I was attracted to because it has no oil, and the ingredient list looks like something you'd make at home. Which is worse...sauce with sugar or with oil?

[john]

Hi John,

Thanks for the tip about Ragu Light. Everyone should eat according to their needs and tastes. I don't have a sweet tooth and I think there's too much sugar in our diets without it sneaking into things like pasta sauce. But I don't have to concern myself with avoiding fat (though I do so naturally). Others such as yourself may be looking for different things in a meal. So long as you cooking it yourself, I'm onboard. That's the important thing.

[sally shootzy]

I have never read such a wonderful article and I am coming back tomorrow to continue reading.