Bolognese sauce, roasted eggplant and my favorite spring salad

Today for lunch I made myself a gorgeous spring mix salad with fresh strawberries from Dekalb County Farmers Market and toasted pecans (not from our trees, but still tasty). Since I was home all day I decided to make a Bolognese sauce and finally use those herbs I've been growing. It was well worth the effort of using fresh roma tomatoes as well as canned, crushed tomatoes and well worth the 3 hours of simmering to get that deep, rich color and flavor that only fresh ingredients and time can provide. El Chupa Cabra , my 4 year old rarely eats anything out of the preschoolers 4 food groups of chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, bacon, or hot pockets, but he likes my bolognese sauce. Could it be because it is chock full of pepperoni? I know pepperoni isn't traditionally found in a classic bolognese, but I am not a traditional kind of girl. I also made some heavenly roasted eggplant that we found at the farmers market as well. Olive oil, kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper and 20 minutes in a 450 degree oven is all it took. I can't wait for dinner! (click on the photos to embiggen and experience the full yumminess) When cooking with herbs it is a good rule of thumb to add dried herbs early in the process to release all of their flavor and fresh herbs at the end as the flavors tend to fade during long cooking and adding them about 15 -20 minutes before the dish is done not only brightens the flavors of the dish, but adds a lovely touch of color!

Ingredients:

1-1/2 lbs of ground beef

1 large can of crushed italian style tomatoes (about 20 oz)

1 large can of diced tomatoes

1 med. onion chopped

3-4 roma tomatoes roughly chopped

3-4 cloves or 2 TBS garlic minced (if you like garlic use more)

2TBS italian seasoning or 2 sprigs fresh oregano removed from stem and chopped and about 6 leaves of fresh basil (shredded)

1 small pkg pepperoni (optional)

1/2 cup of good red wine (optional)

1 bell pepper chopped

1-2 TBS olive oil

1-2 bay leaves (2 if small)

In a large pot heat olive oil over med. heat

Add onions, peppers, garlic and pepperoni and saute until onion is translucent. Take care not to burn the garlic.

Add ground beef, season with salt pepper, italian seasoning (if using dried) and adjust the heat to high stirring to break up meat.

When meat is no longer pink, drain

Add fresh and canned tomatoes,bay leaf and wine (if using)

Lower heat to low, cover and simmer anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours making sure to stir every so often or the sauce might stick. If using fresh herbs add them about ten minutes before turning off the heat.

Serve over pasta . Spaghetti, rigatoni and ziti are all great for holding on to this meaty sauce.