pasketti sauce

Lots of things remind me of my home in Virginia. I had an experience the other day that made me sorely miss the good ol' South. Don't worry, it's nothing tragic. Just a bit of a bummer.


As I was driving through my neighborhood that evening, I was feeling particularly friendly and happy. I met a man walking toward me and gave a smile and a nice wave. In return for my friendliness, I got the ugliest look from this man. Ugly doesn't even cover it. He looked at me like I had kicked a baby or put a cat in the microwave and turned it on. Is it really so strange around here to wave to a person you don't know?

Back home, there are 4 degrees of waving whilst driving. First, we have the head bob. (Can that be classified as a wave? I think so.) The chin goes up, sufficiently acknowledging the other driver or person. This is usually done when there's no time to use the limbs or if you're feeling particularly lazy.

Secondly, we have the finger raise. No, not that finger. This is a step up from the head bob, and involves lifting the pointer finger off of the wheel in greeting.

(Yes, that's a plate masquerading as a steering wheel. You work with what you've got--I really didn't want to go out to my car, sit at the wheel, and snap pictures. Had I done so, I would've been deserving of such filthy looks from passersby.)

Now it's important to note that the first and second degree waves are very often given to complete strangers. Chances are good that you don't even know the person in the oncoming car, but sometimes it's nice to greet him or her anyway. It's nice.

Thirdly, we have the complete hand raise. This is as it sounds, with the full hand coming up off of the wheel for a nice "hello."


(Let me know if you'd like the name of my manicurist...)

There are many varieties of this greeting, including the whipping of the wrist into a gun formation...


...or a slow, back and forth movement, just to name a couple.

The final wave is the full-fledged, enthusiastic, total-arm, "HEY, HOW YOU DOIN'?" wave.


Little Brother and I like to use this wave to startle oncoming drivers, or at the very least, make them think, "Did I know that person?" and see if they'll respond. More often than not, the other driver will wave back accordingly, even if he or she has no idea who we are.

That, folks, is one of the major differences between the cold North and the warm South.

What does this have to do with spaghetti? Not a durn thing, except that the experience made me think of home, which made me think of this sauce. It's been perfected by my Mamburger, and there's always some in the fridge or freezer. Little Brother is a spaghetti maniac--the size of his typical plateful would make your jaw drop. The boy can put it away. (The sauce is also one of the few things he has deemed worthy of learning how to cook for himself.)


Mammy's Pasketti Sauce (no, I don't actually call it that, but it is more fun to say)

1 lb ground beef, obesity to your liking (I use lean)
12 oz can tomato paste
1 1/2 cans water
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste

Brown beef, drain. (Mamster likes to leave a little of the fat in the meat. Me, not so much.)
Add paste, water, and seasonings and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Add to appropriately awesome pasta, such as this variety (radiatore?) sent to me by Melanie from My Kitchen Cafe:


Simple and delicious.

Moral of the story: If a stranger waves at you, wave back.