don’t buy your tomato sauce

Don’t buy your tomato sauce.  Just don’t.  Not convinced?  How about next time you go to the grocery store you check to see the added sugar, salt and preservatives listed on the ingredients list?  If you are shocked by what your eyes read, don’t worry.  It is so simple to make your own tomato sauce.  Just keep on reading!  If you aren’t shocked, nor care, continue on your westernized-grocery store shopping spree and skip this post.Those of you familiar with my habits, know that I am a huge proponent of “DIY in the kitchen” or what I call it, actual cooking.  If you do know me, you also know that I don’t push my dietary/culinary philosophy onto others, unless you ask of course.  Over the years of living on my own, I have stepped farther and farther away from processed foods to the point where you can now look in my pantry and find minimal essentials like olive and coconut oil, almond and coconut flour, vinegar, a plethera of spices, nuts, seeds, canned tuna, and canned veggies.  What you won’t find anymore are packaged “snacks” and other processed, shelf stable “foods.”  Look in my refrigerator and freezer, however, and you will find meats, whole fruits and veggies, eggs, coconut milk, sunflower seed butter, frozen fish and veggies and fruits, and in the side door?  Mason jars of homemade salad dressings, marinades, tomato sauce, and a few store bought staples like Cholula©.  

I am an outlier to the standard American diet, I know, but I am hoping that with more knowledge and insight, that people will rediscover the art of cooking.  A girl can dream.

Here is a compromise though, Homemade Marinara Sauce.  If I were at my parents’ place with their garden full of tomatoes, I would use those, but in a pinch, feel free to use store bought tomatoes, or even canned tomatoes.  Just make sure nothing is added to them with the exception of the necessary canning preservative.

Ingredients:

♦ 1 can tomatoes

♦ 1 can tomato paste

♦ 5-10 leaves of fresh basil

♦ 2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil

♦ 1-2 cloves garlic

♦ salt and pepper to taste

Combine tomatoes and olive oil in a sauce pan and heat.  Add grated garlic and chopped basil and salt/pepper.  Bring sauce to boil, then down to a simmer.  Continue stirring and simmering sauce until you are satisfied with the accumulated flavor.  Turn off heat and cool sauce.  Pour in a large mason jar and store in the refrigerator when completely cooled for up to 2 weeks.

Let me know if you try this out!  Feel free to be creative and add different flavors.  This is really just a base recipe–a canvas to amazing marinaras.  

Leave questions/comments below!

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