vegetable or olive oil for saut?ing

1 cup diced yellow onion

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 eggplants, diced

2 unpeeled zucchinis, diced

1/2 to 1 cup tomato concass?e (see recipe below)  Note:<D> Substitute diced tomatoes in can, if preferred.

1 tablespoon tomato paste

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 teaspoon chopped rosemary

1 teaspoon chopped thyme

Methods:

1.  In a non-stick pan, saut? the onions until transparent. Transfer to a big bowl.

2.  Saut? the green bell pepper.  When cooked, transfer to the bowl with the onions. Note:<D> Wipe clean the pan after saut?ing each vegetable.

3.  Do the same for the red bell pepper and eggplants, then transfer to the same bowl above.

4.  Saut? the zucchinis, and when tender, stir in the tomato concass?e and tomato paste. Add the rest of the saut?ed vegetables. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, rosemary and thyme.

 5.  Mix all the ingredients gently and cook for two to three minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Tomato Concass?e

It is important to know how to make tomato concass?e as it tastes a lot better than the regular canned diced tomatoes.  You can use concass?e in any tomato based dish, like apritada, menudo, estofado, etc. Or you can eat it by itself or as a condiment to any fried or roasted dish.

Ingredients:<D>

4 medium-sized fresh tomatoes

1 small onion, chopped;  

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Methods:

1.  Core the tomatoes and score a cross (or an X) on the bottom, for easy peeling of the skin.

2.  Blanche for one or two minutes, and remove the tomatoes from the water. Drain and immerse in cold water. Peel off any loosened skin using the tip of a small knife.

 3.  Cut each tomato crosswise taking each half in turn, squeeze out any remaining seeds over a bowl. Remove any leftover core.

4.  Put each tomato half cut-side down on a chopping board and cut into strips. Then cut across the strips to dice the flesh.

5.  Saut? the onions until wilted, then add the tomatoes and tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and set aside until needed.

Household Hints:

1.  Lemon fruit always graces our refrigerator; bottled lemon juice is ever present in my pantry. There are many uses for this versatile fruit/juice. Its many uses, in addition to making lemon drinks or as a mix in calamansi juice, are as a deodorizer, disinfectant, cleanser, hand lotion, and many others.

2.  If you need a tape measure in a hurry, or in the absence of one, put the good old green buck to good use. The dollar bill measures exactly 6 1/8 inches long by 2 5/8 inches wide. This is also your chance to put your prowess in fraction addition to good use. Or if you would rather not deal with fractions, use your checkbook instead. The standard length is 6 inches. The best way is to buy a small tape measure that is about 1 1/2 inch in diameter. You can easily drop it in your pocket or in your purse.

3.  During the Christmas season, always remember to never drive and drink. Have a designated drinker if you plan to drive. Be safe. Merry Christmas to everyone.