Sharon Horton Nason
I have a dear friend and neighbor named Sharon Horton Nason. She is an amazingly creative person with a passion for people – especially family – and she enjoys cooking for them. Her now-grown family-of-five often visits – and one adult daughter is temporarily living with Sharon and husband David. Two of Sharon’s siblings and her mother all live in the same city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They connect frequently, and Sharon enjoys making her own comfort food of spaghetti with a delectable sauce (recipe to follow).
Daughter Kelly Surace writes the following about the recipe:
This is Mom’s spaghetti sauce. Everyone loves it! She makes it in huge pots and then freezes small servings of it for later use.
It works great as there is always a good, home-cooked meal ready to be served.
My husband had been bugging me to try and make my Mom’s spaghetti ever since we got married.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to recreate it as she doesn’t really have a “set” recipe. So I called her up and she walked me through it. Lo and behold, it turned out like hers! My first time cooking this was in June 2004.
Deborah Joy Phelps
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Sharon Horton Nason’s Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients:
Approximately 3 lbs. of ground meat (Sharon uses ground turkey)
1 extra large can of tomato sauce (1 lb. and 13 oz. = 822 grams)
¼ of a large can of water
1 medium can of whole tomatoes
1 to 2 onions to taste
About ¼ cup of sugar (or Splenda/sugar-free sweetener)
A few pours of Worcestershire sauce
Cajun Seasoning (to taste)
1.Combine ground meat and chopped onions in large pot and brown them. (This will take some time with so much meat).
2.Once entirely browned, pour in tomato sauce and container of whole tomatoes.
3.Add the water.
4.Mix together completely. Let this cook on medium to high heat until bubbling.
5.Turn the heat down to medium low and cook for about an hour.
6.At this point, add the Worcestershire sauce and other seasonings to taste. (The sauce should have thickened some by now but should continue thickening.)
7.Let pot sit on the stove and cook until there’s a true sauce consistency.
8.NOTE: Keep your pot covered and check it periodically. Left uncovered, you will have a mess on your stove top.
9.Time: Ranges from 1½ to 3 hours depending on the cook’s preferences.
Sharon uses thin spaghetti as her pasta of choice. Of course you can use whatever you prefer. She notes that the little bit of sugar takes the tang away from the tomato sauce.
“Cajun seasoning” is a combination of onion powder, garlic powder, white pepper, and paprika. In southern Louisiana there are several varieties available in the grocery store including Tony Chachere’s.
Sharon likes to make two pots of her sauce – one with onions and one without. This way everyone in the family is happy and eats lots of the spaghetti!
I asked my friend what her definition of Age Esteem was. She said it meant “More time to relax, travel, and be by myself to do more things I enjoy.” Among other things, Sharon is a talented embroiderer and has the amazing machine needed to create so many special items like religious stoles for preachers and baby caps for newborns with their names on them. She “makes magic” with this talent.
Hooray for Sharon’s special spaghetti sauce and for Age Esteem, too…
Bravo! And Bon Appétit!
Deborah Joy Phelps
Bonnie Nourishing Factors age-esteem, Cajun seasoning, Deborah Joy Phelps, Sharon Horton Nason, spaghetti, spaghetti sauce
The American Heritage Dictionary has a short and cozy definition of comfort food: “Food that is simply prepared and associated with a sense of home and contentment.”
One online source listed “the top ten comfort foods” in the following order from Number 10 up to Number 1. These were (with many recipe variations):
10. Chicken pot pie
9. Mac and Cheese
8. Fried Chicken
7. Meatloaf with Gravy
6. Hamburgers
5. Apple Pie
4. Ice Cream
3. Lasagna
2. Mashed Potatoes
1. Pizza
Obviously “Aunt Christine” may have a different Fried Chicken recipe than you or I. And how much and what type of cheese mixed with the macaroni would make it your own preferred favorite. In this list, it’s interesting to note that there are at least two pastas (the lasagna and the mac and cheese) and there are two chicken recipes (pot pie and fried.) With all of its ways to prepare, no wonder pizza is way up at the top of this particular list! Note that there are three “Italian” items on the list with “German” hamburgers and meatloaf. And what can be more “American” as apple pie? Top that with a la mode ( French words meaning “with ice cream” here in the United States) and oh boy! We really have quite a global list here.
Deborah Joy Phelps
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Deborah Joy Phelps
When Deborah Joy Phelps writes about food her story takes us beyond measurements, spices and herbs. She stirs in the flavor of the cook’s personality.
Deborah Joy, now on the good side of 60, is an artist when it comes to meeting new people and truly connecting with them. Her contact is immediate and spontaneous. This is probably due to the fact that she loves people and is genuinely interested. Since she is authentic and engaging in her interaction, people tend to show their genuine self with her and let down barriers.
Adding the essence of the cook to the recipie brings a special flavor beyond food.
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