Us and Them Tomato Sauce

This sweet and savory tomato sauce combines the best of “Us” (i.e. homemade and simple ingredients) with as much of “Them” (store bought, prepared items) as we need to meet our time, effort or money goals for the day.

Use as much “us” as you can- fresh garlic, fresh herbs and tomatoes, and your own homemade roasted red peppers as you’d like. The fact that you’re not just pouring sauce out of a jar puts enough “Us” in the sauce to justify the title.

Elements:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped
12 cloves garlic, minced
1 sm. can tomato paste
½ cup water
1 jar (or 7 oz) of roasted red peppers
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 tablespoons each of dried basil and oregano
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 lb chopped tomatoes (canned or fresh*)
1 teaspoon salt

Optional: One 16-24 oz jar of “Them” (store bought) tomato sauce- any variety.

The Process:
- Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for about 5-7 minutes until the onions are just beginning to become transparent. Be careful to stir often so you don’t char the onions. Crispy onions is not the goal.

- Add tomato paste and ½ cup water and stir until the paste is thinned and blended through the garlic/onion mixture.

-Add tomatoes and roasted red peppers, bring them to a boil and continue to cook on medium high for another 5 minutes.

- Add sugar, salt, oregano, basil and balsamic vinegar.

- Reduce heat and simmer for at least 10 minutes and up to an hour depending on your patience and heat tolerance. Good compromise is to let it all simmer for about 20 minutes.

The Meal:
Toss in your favorite protein and top with your preferred cow, goat or soy cheese, some diced tomato and snips of herbs.
Serve sauce on top of your favorite pasta.

Tips from the Hive:
* If using fresh herbs, chop them up finely and save them to add at the very end of the sauce prep.
*If using fresh tomatoes, blanch and peel tomatoes first before cutting. Unless they’re your own garden tomatoes then just rinse and toss in!
* Roasted garlic cloves can be subbed in for the garlic role.
* Any tomato will do- Fresh, jarred, canned of any variety from grape to beefsteak.
* Add a 16-24 oz of prepared tomato sauce at the end. It’s a fab trick to double the volume of your sauce, and keep this sauce feeling more like “Us” sauce even though you might toss in a bunch of “Them” ingredients.