Friday Friend Recipe #105 -- Spaghetti Sauce #6

I am Jenny Rosenstrach!!

Okay, so I'm not really Jenny Rosenstrach -- not even close.

(but I do have a foodie/cooking-kindred spirit kind of crush on her)

I just got her book "How to Celebrate Everything"  yesterday and upon glancing at it--we could really be friends.

We have so much in common (okay, only 3 things, but still)

She's a note taker---I'm a note taker!

 The spiral notebook behind the page of her lovely cookbook, showing pics of notes,  is mine--it's my Christmas notebook.  Doesn't everyone have one?

I have lists of cookies, appetizers, new recipes I want to try.

Lists of cookies we've made in the past holidays and liked, but as the years continue, that list is now down to 3 main Christmas Cookies. And Fudge---because the Handyman likes fudge. That's about it now, but I still keep my lists -- I like to look back on them in my Christmas notebook and reminisce.

I see in 2012, Nipple cookies were at the top of the list.  My boys aptly named the Hershey kiss cookies that when they were crude, immature teenagers and that's what we call them still. (possibly because we are kind of immature too)

 Anyway---this will be a fun book to sit and go thru.

I will tell you more about what Jenny and the cookbook and I have in common, after I tell you about my Friday Friend Recipe #105!

My Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown #105

"MY" spaghetti sauce.

Barb called it 'Saucy Debbie's Sauce'

and you know all the whys and wherefores of this countdown, right? Homemade cookbook, friends contributed, Handyman said I couldn't/wouldn't do it, I'll show him, yadda yadda yadda....

I've never really met a spaghetti sauce I didn't like, this is just the one I've always made.

The Handyman says he likes it better than his mom's...and his mom is 1/2 Italian!

Shhhhh.  Don't tell her.  I actually just think he is  just used to this one.  He's been eating it for the past 38 years.  He loves his mother's sauce too, and my mom's sauce.

I guess you could say that the Handyman has never met a spaghetti sauce he hasn't liked either.

This recipe below?  Please do not judge me on my witty recipe writing--I was being silly for friends, I never thought I'd be out here for the whole world to see ( whole world? that would be my 4 blog readers--thanks guys).  I would have been much more professional if I'd have known.

And now I will tell you my story (since I am committed to this for the countdown of the cookbook, but let me tell you, it's getting very hard to think of things!)

My story and also what I have on common with Jenny Rosenstrach is: RITUAL.

Her cookbook 'How to Celebrate Everything' is all about ritual in our everyday lives.  And food!  Rituals, celebrations and food!

I am a creature of habit.  I live off of a list.  I don't do spur of the moment things.

I have a list, I am methodical, I am....boring?  Yikes!!

Anyway, that's a discussion for another day.

One of my favorite rituals are my Tuesday mornings!

For the past gazillion years (18) my friend Debbie E and I have coffee together at 6am.

We solve the problems of the world!

Everything is right with the world!

Problems?  We don't got 'em, we got each other!

We were next door neighbors 27 years ago.

Our kids played in the neighborhood together.

They had a German Sheppard named Heidi, who would get out of their yard every evening about supper time and as my family were sitting around the table, we would watch as first the dog, then Charlie, then their children, Megan, Mark, Katie and Kelsey would run by trying to chase the dog down.

It was a nightly ritual.  (HA--did you see how I brought that around?)

Here is a picture of us about  23 years ago.

and one about  18 years ago.  And the Handyman smiling for the camera.  Can I find a pic of us now?  Nope.

Except this one from our cooking club cookout this summer.

So--my story in a nutshell.

We lived next door to each other, our kids went to the same elementary school.

We went to a spring concert, we sat by each other.  When the concert was over, we were walking out together-down the long school hallway.

Charlie, her husband, says:  Debbie, can't you watch these kids of yours.

I look around at my kids who aren't doing anything, but I use my stern mother voice:  You guys GET OVER HERE NOW! Stop messing around.

Of course he had been talking to his wife and not me!

My boys were like  "What?  Mom? What'd we do?"

I was like 'you're gonna get it buster'.

My boys  "Whaaaaa?"

I made them stick right by me all the way to the car.

It's funny now!

And that is my Friday Friend Recipe #105!

Saucy Debbie's Sauce!

(that's me!)

If for any reason whatsoever you want to check out all the Friday Friend Recipes in the book so far, just click here.

Right here...and it will take you to the complete countdown.

I'm going to link up with Weekend Cooking.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts!