Simple Homemade Tomato Sauce

Tomato sauce is commonly used in Italian cooking, and a simple tomato sauce requires just a few ingredients: fresh tomatoes (if they are in season), olive oil, garlic and fresh basil. If you have this sauce on hand, that will help you to make your dinner in a flash, which is especially helpful after a busy day. Because I use tomato sauce a lot in my kitchen, I add a few more ingredients to this basic sauce, which makes it taste better. You can make pasta in 10 minutes. Bake fish or chicken with tomato sauce. You make a slight change to this sauce for pizzas, and the opportunities are endless. Homemade sauce is much better than store-bought, and making this sauce is much easier than you think. After you learn this recipe, I bet you will no longer buy the ready-made pasta sauce – no matter what chef's face or name is on the label. You are the chef in your own kitchen.

Ingredients:
1 can crushed tomato (28 oz)
3 to 4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup chopped celery
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup of red wine (good enough to drink)
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt, black pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)

Directions:
In a heavy pot over medium heat, cook the onion, garlic, celery, carrot until soft (about 5 minutes). Add tomato, red wine, bay leaf, Italian seasoning (sometimes I substitute fresh oregano or marjoram) and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat, and let it simmer for 1 hour. You should season again with a little more salt, sugar or even add lemon juice, because the tomato releases its acid during cooking time. Throw in basil and cook a few more minutes. Remove the bay leaf. By using a hand-held blender to achieve the proper consistency (alternating between on and off just a few times), this tangy tomato sauce is done. You can use this sauce virtually any way you want.

*To keep the sauce more neutral, I always omit the basil, so that I can use this sauce in a variety of ways. If using fresh tomatoes for this recipe, place 2 lbs of tomatoes in boiling water and cook for 20 seconds. Immediately plunge them in cold water to prevent further cooking. Peel the skin off with a sharp knife, and put them through the food mill or food processor.