44 thoughts on “Sauce”

  1. I seem to remember that Worcestershire sauce was invented by accident, like aniline dye, but I don’t remember what they were trying for.
    I don’t have a favorite sauce. I don’t have a favorite anything.

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    2. Very interesting. Couldn’t help but laugh when I noticed that you can (or at least could at one time) buy it in 2 gallon jars. That’s a lot of Worcestershire sauce! I also found it interesting that the American version of it has more sugar and sodium than the British version, which presumably is the version I grew up with. I thought that it was my taste buds that had changed, but they are really two different sauces.

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  4. We love pesto, but I am thankful this is an off year for us for basil. We grow basil for pesto every other year. The pesto freezes beautifully. I use Marcella Hazen’s recipe.

    We also have two good enchilada sauces we make-a green sauce made from tomatillas, and a red one made from ripe Hatch chilis. Both are mild and also freeze well Those recipes come from “1001 Hot and Spicey Recipes”. I use them in cheese and chicken enchiladas.

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  5. Well I can say definitively it’s not Worcestershire since that is not a vegetarian sauce. I guess I’d have to go with pesto since that’s the only sauce that I actually make on my own accord. We’re having a good year this year with our basil, I’ve done three jars so far and probably have enough basil left to do another one or two. This is good because the last two years were terrible. My basil both years got that brown fungus toward the beginning of August. But this year they must have bread heartier versions because it’s just fine.

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    2. We also had trouble with our basil the last two years. I figured there was some residual fungus in the soil and moved to a different spot this year. The basil is going gangbusters. I’ve been using it liberally, we gave some away and we made a half dozen 8 oz. jars full earlier this summer. We should make more but we already have about two dozen jars worth in the freezer—the accumulation of several years’ overproduction.

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  6. Rise and Shine Baboons,

    I am a fickle sauce lover—I go from one to another. The big bad thing in many commercial sauces, which unfortunately makes them taste good, is MSG. Anyone allergic to yeast is allergic to MSG because it is a derivative of yeast, often listed as “natural flavorings.” MSG gives me hives. Therefore, I like to make my own sauces, usually without Worcestershire sauce, which I don’t like much.

    My fickle heart is stuck onSesame-Ginger Asian sauce at this time,but I will move on. I also like most of those listed above, including Pesto. I had a bumper crop of basil this year, so the freezer is full of pesto. Thai Peanut sauce is also a big favorite around here.

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  7. Then there is what we call Invisable sauce, which is the olive oil, salt and garlic sauce that Marcella H. puts on spaghetti with parsely and parmesan sprinkled on top. It is delicious.

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      1. Bill, I think this virus isolation is getting to you. You’re more acerbic than you normally are. 🙂 I still love you, but I have added some additional protective gear.

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  8. I have a complicated recipe for Spicy-Sweet Cranberry Meatballs that I make for holidays, sauce calls a Balsamic Cranberry-Fig Compote, plus some hoisin sauce, ketchup, and soy sauce.There are also ginger and garlic in the meatballs… it takes all day, but has so much flavor.

    And for something easier, I like oriental sauces like that Sesame-Ginger one Jacque mentioned.

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  10. The sauce I prepared most often was a Hollandaise. The recipe came from one of the early microwave cookbooks that were popular in the early 1980s. The ingredients were butter, egg yolks, milk, salt, dry mustard and lemon juice. It is a quick and effortless way to make a delicious sauce.

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  11. For some reason, this line from John Gorka’s “Riverside” has stuck in my mind: “We called it gravy, never called it sauce.” I love that song, here it is in it’s entirety:

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  12. I’m with Jacque, a bit fickle when it comes to sauces. It depends on the season, what’s fresh, what the dish is. At the height of summer, when sun-ripe tomatoes fresh from the garden are plentiful, a no cook tomato herb sauce with pasta is divine.

    One commercial sauce that I have discovered this summer is Mom’s Mala Sichuan Chili Sauce. It’s divine, and can be used to flavor so many different things. It comes in both a mild and a hot version, and we love them both.

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      1. If you think that gives it a more positive spin, let’s.

        And with regard to BiR’s comments about including chutneys, I’m all for it. Probably my favorite chutney is the Afghan cilantro based chutney . I could eat that stuff by the jar full. And right now with plenty of cheap fresh cilantro, garlic, and Jalapeño peppers is the ideal time to make it. I always have walnuts in the freezer for when that urge comes over me. Heaven with freshly baked jazz bread from the Flatbread Company. And, don’t get me started on salsa fresca.. I’m in hog heaven this time of year.

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  13. The only grocery store sauce I bought used to be Tabasco. My favorite drink is V8 vegetable juice. Since standard V8 is insanely salty, I used to buy the low sodium version and spike it with Tabasco. Then I read an article rating hot sauces. Tabasco got high marks for heat but low marks for taste. So I tried Crystal brand hot sauce. It has a wonderful, mellow taste. I’m now a big fan.

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  15. OT -Just read on Facebook that Anna’s husband passed away on Wednesday. Here’s the obituary Anna posted on line:

    Obituary
    Thomas Juntunen died on Wednesday, August 26 of natural causes. Thomas was born in Detroit, MI but called Hopkins, MN his childhood home. He met friends in high school that carried him into adulthood and beyond – including gaming friends, friends from the local science fiction fandom community, and eventually competitive bridge. He became a bridge lifemaster – an accomplishment, like many, that he could never quite acknowledge as the big deal that it was. He received a BS from Metro State University and a Masters in Geographic Information Systems from the University of Minnesota. He married Anna Bliss in 2001, Anna and Tom each having found a person who loved and accepted them for all they were and could be. His proudest accomplishment, though, the part of his life most dear, was his daughter. From the time he first held her tiny hand to cheering her on at circus to watching her take the car keys for the first time this summer to go hang out with friends – she was his greatest treasure. He will be remembered as a weather geek, a sharer of interesting tidbits that you may just need to know, a garden putterer, and a kind hearted soul. He was preceded in death by his parents, W. Wallace Juntunen and Janet Juntunen, and is survived by his wife, Anna Bliss, his daughter Solveig Juntunen, Anna’s family (Carolyn, Pete, Joan, Jared, Emily, and Lauren), and many friends. There will be a private burial and memorial gathering at a later time. Memorials to the ACLU, the Sheridan Story, or donor’s choice.
    Gill Brothers 612-861-6088
    http://www.gillbrothers.com

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    1. The following is the message that Anna posted on Facebook:
      “Oh, friends – friends from far and wide. Friends from when I was tiny and friends from more recent years, friends who I know through other friends. Many of you know, some may have wondered what has happened. The unthinkable. The I don’t want to post this or say this. The I wish I had a better way to share this with those of you who do not yet know. My quirky, wonderful, good-hearted, yin to my yang, my Thomas, passed away on Wednesday morning. I wish I had other news to share. I wish I had a different way to do this. There will be gathering sometime, but because this is 2020, well… I want you all to be safe and healthy. Hug your loved ones. Dig in the dirt. Cry over sappy movies. And if you find the yin to your yang, treasure them. Thank you dear friends, family, community – you have been holding me up and I know you will continue to.”

      So very sad to know that this happened in the life of one of our baboons friends. I’m numb with shock, can’t imagine how Anna is holding herself together.

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  16. Oh, god, no!! Oh, Anna, I’m so, so, so sorry. I would hate anything that caused you pain, but this is just so awful. Coming at this time, you will probably be pretty much alone as you deal with this loss. Know that we love you and are thinking of you.

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  17. Just when you think things can’t get worse, they do. This poem by John O-Donohue is sent out to Anna in the spirit of support:

    For Grief

    When you lose someone you love,
    Your life becomes strange,
    The ground beneath you gets fragile,
    Your thoughts make your eyes unsure;
    And some dead echo drags your voice down
    Where words have no confidence.
    Your heart has grown heavy with loss;
    And though this loss has wounded others too,
    No one knows what has been taken from you
    When the silence of absence deepens.

    Flickers of guilt kindle regret
    For all that was left unsaid or undone.

    There are days when you wake up happy;
    Again inside the fullness of life,
    Until the moment breaks
    And you are thrown back
    Onto the black tide of loss.

    Days when you have your heart back,
    You are able to function well
    Until in the middle of work or encounter,
    Suddenly with no warning,
    You are ambushed by grief.

    It becomes hard to trust yourself.
    All you can depend on now is that
    Sorrow will remain faithful to itself.
    More than you, it knows its way
    And will find the right time
    To pull and pull the rope of grief
    Until that coiled hill of tears
    Has reduced to its last drop.

    Gradually, you will learn acquaintance
    With the invisible form of your departed;
    And, when the work of grief is done,
    The wound of loss will heal
    And you will have learned
    To wean your eyes
    From that gap in the air
    And be able to enter the hearth
    In your soul where your loved one
    Has awaited your return
    All the time.

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  19. My deepest condolences, Anna. Such a shock, I’m sure. Be strong, and know that so many here you’ve never met in person are grieving with you and wishing you the best as you deal with your loss.

    Sincerely,
    Chris in Owatonna

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  21. Somewhere in my reading yesterday, W. H. Auden’s Funeral Blues popped up, seemingly out of context. Now it feels like an announcement. I’m so sorry, Anna for your and Solveig’s loss. Words really are inadequate.

    Funeral Blues

    Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
    Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
    Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
    Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
    Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
    Scribbling on the sky the message ‘He is Dead’.
    Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
    Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
    He was my North, my South, my East and West,
    My working week and my Sunday rest,
    My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
    I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
    The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
    Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
    Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
    For nothing now can ever come to any good.

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    1. Thank you Bill. I’m not a big fan of the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral except for the funeral scene because one of the characters recites this piece.

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