We all have essentials–you know, the absolute thing or things you can’t do without.
When I was single and surviving on my own–my two things were ketchup and dark chocolate. I discovered that if I plopped a decent dollop of ketchup in pot-roasts, hamburgers and pasta sauce, it brought the taste level up several notches. My Italian best friend, Rina and I were in perfect agreement about our secret ingredient. When her Nonna discovered our secret, her eye-rolling looked like an out-of-control seizure, accompanied with rapid Italian spewing from her lips. Rina and I spent a lengthy session in her cozy kitchen, making pasta sauce from scratch. We each brought home a few jars of Nonna’s treasured sauce and it wasn’t until years later, that we tried to remember exactly how she did it and what she actually used. At the time, we only knew her sauce tasted tons better than Heinz. And being young, we both felt Nonna would always be there for more sauce.
Both Rina and I graduated into more elaborate dishes and the Heinz was retired as our secret ingredient.
Home-made pizza–crust and made-from-scratch tomato sauce. . . .
Nonna would have danced with joy. . .
Which brings me to my second essential—chocolate. And not just any chocolate, this is the Belgian dark chocolate, at least 72%.
Bakers all have failures. Let’s face it. We’re all learning, especially if baking powder was accidently omitted; an oven temperature set too high; a heavy hand stirring the ingredients. For someone learning to bake, there are a slew of pitfalls to be avoided–cakes that sink in the middle; cookies needing something to make it better;, cupcakes that never grew to adulthood but stayed the same as when it first went into the oven.
This is where chocolate comes to the rescue. Drench any pastry with chocolate and it will be a guaranteed winner. I don’t have too many failures but I still enjoy melting pieces of dark chocolate bars on top of cupcakes just out of the oven. If the cupcake failed to rise, no one would notice with a chocolate bar melted on top. No-one except a crass, rude person who doesn’t appreciate really good chocolate bar cupcakes.
When all else fails, there has to be a back-up plan. Mine are doughnuts and not just any doughnut, it has to be a Yonnie’s. AND, if it’s a foodie emergency, Yonnie’s is just down the street. . .
A Yonnie’s regular doughnut dusted with fine sugar. . . .
Or a Yonnie’s fritter drizzled with a bit of glaze. . . .
Rina and I did survive with cooking lessons from her Nonna and my Mom. We are both older, wiser and married, sharing our culinary skills with our granddaughters, who are far away from home and experiencing life on their own.
Over a coffee at Yonnie’s, Rina showed me a text from her granddaughter: Hi Nonna, My housemate Leesa swears all I need in our cupboard is Heinz ketchup and Belgian dark chocolates. But I told her I really can cook and bake. . . .thanks to my Nonna.
We laughed as we remembered our early days on our own. Some things never change. But some things do.
chocofigbee 
I can’t say I ever used Heinz catsup, but chocolate always works. Love this look into your life when you were just starting out. Now, the circle widens with grand-daughters of your own. ~Nan
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It’s an amazing process, Nan—granddaughters prove that ketchup and chocolates will never be relegated to a back shelf. . . 🙂
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Sounds like you could make a picnic of them.
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Throw in Yonnie’s doughnuts and I think the food groups are represented, don’t you? 🙂
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Such a “sweet” post. It reminds me of the days I could eat pasta sauce and chili or anything with tomato sauce. I made my own using the Mutti brand Italian tomato sauce that I cooked all day that came in glass bottles and you add your own spices. I miss those days. My first MIL taught me how to make it and even though she was Swedish, the woman that taught her was Italian. I stopped using catsup after reading the ingredients but I think it’s a little bit of sugar that makes it taste so much better. I miss being able to eat any of it too. I’m not sure where you get Belgian chocolate but I’m a huge fan of high quality dark chocolate. I have so much stashed because I’m sure that and coffee are going to be the hardest and most expensive things to get now. I baked a lot of cookies until I moved into independent living where kitchens are not conducive to real cooking. When I want something sweet, I still want good quality. I’ve also found that American flour makes me cough so I have to watch that too. ;( European flour is very different.
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Love your wonderful comments, Marlene! I find it awful all the things one can no longer enjoy without thinking of the consequences—and to think we were once able to eat anything and everything!
Please take good care and enjoy whatever good chocolates and baked goods you can. My Danish friend told me she was able to enjoy bread again when she was home in Denmark because it was made of rye flour.
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My daughter bought her brother a red t-shirt that said I like Ketchup on my Ketchup. I liked it at one time. They’ve changed the ingredients so I only keep a small bottle in the fridge for my son. I need to know more about Belgian chocolate! Baking chocolate here is not the best. When I could still eat tomato based foods I used Mutti’s tomato sauce in glass bottles. My first MIL taught me to cook my sauce all day. An Italian landlady taught her how to cook it. I miss baking as well. I did the cookies every Christmas and still have several of my German mother’s recipes. Cooking and baking in an independent living kitchen is not highly conducive to an easy job of it. My DIL ruins all the recipes by trying to eliminate the stuff that makes them good. If I want something sweet, give me the best there is. Now, I need to go find some breakfast. You have made me hungry. 🙂 Loved this post.
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I find it difficult too, to get my Belgian dark chocolate bars, so I go for Green&Black’s dark chocolate for extra-special occasions. I can buy it at my supermarket. Most of the time, I use my supply of Lindt, the Swiss 70% dark chocolate mini-bars–I break them in thirds and let it melt on top of cupcakes or cakes. It is still yummy and decadent and so easy. . .I do agree that some things, such as biscottis, pound cakes and shortbreads requires real butter–I use lactose-free butter to still get that wonderful taste.
It’s wonderful having you drop-in, Marlene. Take good care and stay well.
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There’s something about dark chocolate. Since I am lactose intolerant, it’s a blessing and I always have an excuse for buying it.
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You hit on a positive, Whisker Bunny–all the more reason to enjoy every single bite! 🙂
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chocolate is a mystical wonder. And it doesn’t have any milk in it. As a Lactose Intolerant, I have an excuse to eat lots of it😃
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I’m in total agreement, CJ! Any excuse is a good one for eating lots of chocolate—and being lactose intolerant, gives you a reason to eat more! 🙂
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