Tommy K, Bloody Mary style
Friday, February 18, 2011 at 7:14AM
Updated on Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 9:49AM by
Vix
People are often surprised that, as a ‘foodie’, I like certain foods deemed ‘junk’ by most. I am talking about tin spaghetti, plastic cheese, chicken nuggets, fish fingers... that sort of thing. I think really they are secretly pleased because, in all honesty, I have never met someone who didn’t secretly have some such vice. For me it goes back to childhood; my sister and I were only allowed these foods as treats so it still feels a little bit naughty indulging in them from time to time.
When we were in NZ, our host Dawn cooked a magnificent fry up the morning of the wedding (sadly, I have no photos, otherwise it would have been included in my post on the subject). As part of this feast, she cooked something I would never have dared try – ‘tin style’ spaghetti in tomato sauce. It was brilliant! Even my Mum (hater of all things junk) commented on how good it was. The trick was that she did not try to make it posh. There were no herbs or aromatics, it was just simple, sweet tomato sauce with intentionally overcooked spaghetti. Just like the tin... but better.
Now let me get something straight before you all give up on me now: I do not think tomato ketchup should be or ever would be labelled as junk – I’ve never met anyone who didn’t eat it. The above is relevant because, until recently, I was also of the opinion that this was something that one should not try to replicate, better to leave that to Mr Heinz. But, here's the thing, Dawn's tomato ketchup was homemade too.