Vegetables, meats and sauce simmer in the pan.

In summer or winter, I love a rich Bolognese sauce. I love the aroma as it fills our small kitchen. One can leave the screen door open and savor the mixture of sweet summer air and slow cooking.

The sauce slowly boils and bubbles and for two or three hours one anticipates its many uses. The sauce can be served over a variety of pastas, over a bed of yellow polenta or ravioli. Or, use it in lasagna.

On this late summer evening, I cut Swiss chard from the garden, and when the pasta was just al dente, I added the greens to the boiling water and boiled until just soft (about 90 seconds).

I strained away the water and added salt, virgin olive oil and a pat of butter to the mix. Plated both the pasta and the sauce. Over the pasta and layered Bolognese sauce, I shaved a thick skin of Parmesan cheese.

My wife, Laurie, had baked a sourdough rye bread, which she covered with homemade garlic spread. She poured two glasses of Washington Syrah. As the sun staggered toward the horizon, we feasted with delight and pleasure over a meal where slow-cooked sauces please the best in us.

But I took the sauce in a Spanish departure by adding eggplant, lots of red chili flakes and olives to the traditional recipe.

If lucky enough, one can add two cups of wild mushrooms to this preparation. Chanterelles would be heavenly and change the entire character of the meal. I also snuck in a tablespoon of curry paste (Mae Ploy) which added a hint of heat and flavor.

Ingredients

• Six cloves fresh garlic, minced

• One onion, medium diced

• Three stalks of celery, medium diced

• One shredded carrot

• One small eggplant, 1/2-inch diced

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 pound hamburger, crumbled and

browned

• 1/2 pound pork sausage, crumbled and

browned

• 1/2 pound sliced mushrooms (we are

headed toward fall and wild mushrooms

will enhance any dish. I used a couple of

lobster mushrooms and slowly cooked

them in the Bolognese until tender.)

• One 30-ounce can of diced tomatoes

• One 8-ounce can of tomato paste

• 2 cups homemade chicken stock

• 1 cup red wine

• Dried red chili flakes, to taste

• 1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and

halved

• 2 tablespoons dried oregano or fresh

basil

• Salt and pepper

• 10 ounces of dried farro pasta from

Abruzzo (any good pasta) or a cup of

dried polenta, slowly cooked with stock,

water and a pat of butter

• Parmesan cheese, grated

Preparation

Saute the garlic and onion in the olive oil. Stir in the onion and celery, cooking until translucent. Add the meats and the shredded carrot. After the meats brown, add the eggplant and mushrooms.

It’s time for the tomatoes, stock and red wine. Add the spices and herbs and turn the heat down to a gentle boil. Slowly simmer for two to three hours. Serve over the hot pasta or polenta with a generous grating of Parmesan cheese. Of course, a garden salad would enhance the meal (with garden tomatoes, yes), but we are already in fair territory with baked garlic bread and wine.

Dessert? Fresh peaches with a splash of creme fraiche or yogurt. Have you ever picked them on Sauvie Island? That is an enviable treat.