By MAGGIE ISHINO
The following are recipes for spaghetti and tacos, two of my favorite foods.
Note: Amount of ingredients can be varied according to size of family and/or your taste buds.
Spaghetti
One 16-oz. package of spaghetti
6-oz. bottle of Heinz or Del Monte ketchup
One package of Farmer John sausage, which comes in an oblong package (same sausage used for won ton)
One brown onion, sliced
Two green onions, sliced
Two sprigs of parsley, sliced
Six large mushrooms or shiitake, sliced
Six baby carrots, sliced (or one large carrot)
One teaspoon of oregano
Two stalks of celery, sliced (optional)
1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
1. Put oil in frying pan.
2. Put ingredients in the frying pan.
3. Pour ketchup over ingredients and mix thoroughly.
4. Do NOT dilute. Cover frying pan.
5. Lower heat and simmer until ingredients are done. (It will smell like spaghetti sauce). It does not take too long, so make sure the sauce does not burn.
6. To boil spaghetti, put water in large pan until water boils, then add spaghetti. Cook spaghetti until done. I take a strand of spaghetti and toss it against the kitchen wall. If it sticks to the wall, the spaghetti is done. Don’t laugh. This really works. But please use your common sense about this “trick.”
Note: After you remove water from the pot in which the spaghetti was boiled, spread butter over spaghetti and it will add more flavor (optional).
Garlic Bread
Cut one loaf of French bread in half, lengthwise. Spread butter on both sides. Sprinkle garlic salt over butter. Put bread in shallow baking pan. Bake in oven at 350 degrees until butter melts or you can smell the garlic.
(Be sure you have a nice tossed salad and garlic bread with your spaghetti, and I’ll be over.)
Tacos
One package of Farmer John sausage, or use strips of chicken, beef or pork roast
1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
One brown onion, sliced
1. Pour oil into frying pan. Add all of the above ingredients.
2. Mix ingredients thoroughly.
3. Simmer until sausage (meat) is cooked.
4. Prepare the following:
• Slice one-half of an iceberg lettuce in strips and place in a bowl.
• Put half a package of shredded cheese (Mexican style or taco) in a bowl.
• Dice three tomatoes and place in a bowl.
5. Open up a package of corn or flour tortillas. There usually a dozen per package.
6. Put oil in the middle of a frying pan at medium temperature.
7. Put a tortilla in pan and fry until brown. (Work fast because tortillas will brown quickly due to the hot oil).
8. Place fried tortilla on a paper towel to absorb oil. (If you don’t like the crispy tacos, just warm tortilla in the frying pan without the oil.)
9. Spread a portion of the cooked ingredients in the middle of the tortilla. Add strips of iceberg lettuce, some shredded cheese and tomatoes.
Fold tortilla in half and olé!—You have your taco. Es muy sabroso, mis amigas/amigos.
—
By the way, do you know what a honeymoon salad is?
It’s lettuce alone, meow!
PLEASE NOTE: JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT, I will “meow” any comments, problems, questions you may have. Please mail letter to me c/o of The Rafu Shimpo, 701 E. Third St., Suite 130, Los Angeles, CA 90013. I will answer SELECT letters in my column.
Maggie Ishino is a Rafu typist. She can be reached at mishino@rafu.com Opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo.