Easy Tomato Sauce

I have to admit, I'm not really a fan of tomato sauce anymore. Somewhere in my 40s my digestive system began having a difference of opinion with my palate. This is sad, especially since a nice marinara sauce on pasta used to be a stand-by for me at non-veg restaurants. But alas, wheat pasta is a no-no these days, too!

But, I do still serve a red sauce to my family, and especially to my daughter, who loves her pasta with either red sauce, pesto or just veg butter and yeast.

Since no one here really eats a lot of red sauce at any one time, we ended of up wasting most of any jar we would open up for either a meal or a snack. I dislike wasting food and I dislike wasting money even more!

I think I have finally found a solution to my problem! After buying a pressure cooker recently, I realized I could easily make a simple red sauce with the canned tomatoes I have on hand and dried and fresh spices. I could control the sugar and the oil. And, I had just purchased a box of vintage jam jars and lids at a garage sale (thinking I would make some jam from the crazy cherry-plum trees that line out driveway). I soon realized, though, that those jars were the perfect size for how much red sauce we might use, even over the course of a few days. (Experience has borne this out. They are perfect!)

I whittled down a recipe I found on the internet (she must have been making pasta sauce for a huge Italian family) and simply put this in my tiny jars (which have sort of been sterilized), let them cool, and then stuck them in my freezer to pop out only when needed.

Here's the recipe I came up with. Of course, like any good cook, you can add things you like. But if you suddenly find yourself trying to feed a veg'n and all you've got in the pantry is some old cheesey or meaty jar of sauce, you can whip this up in an instant for a fresh "chef made" taste. (You don't really even need to pressure cook this, you could also just blend fresh or canned tomatoes and your herbs. Really. It works. I've done it.)

Simple Tomato Sauce
(Make this "Raw Vegan" by using fresh tomatoes and no bay leaf)

3 cans tomatoes (I used diced)
1 can water
1 small can tomato paste or sauce
1-2 tbs dry veggie stock
1-3 tsp of fresh or dry herbs/spices: basil, oregano, chives, onion
1-2 cloves fresh garlic or 1/2-1 tsp garlic powder
1 bay leaf
salt to taste

Optional:
Some red or white wine, vodka, veggies, olives, etc. Saute some onions first in oil or water.

Instructions:
Fresh raw: Just blend this in a blender. Serve.
Cooked on stove: combine all in a pot, simmer til hot or longer if you really want to reduce it and blend the flavors. Take out bay leaf before serving. (I used my pressure cooker. Around 15 minutes at pressure. Natural pressure release. Open lid away from you.)

I poured my sauce into small jam jars that I had boiled to sterilize. Since I wasn't being extra careful, I froze them instead of considering them "canned." Don't over-fill if you are freezing to allow for expansion.

Serve over regular pasta or rice or corn pasta for a fully gluten-free experience.

Tornado Soup

It's called Tornado Soup because I made this on the day a tornado touched down in Santa Rosa, about 10 miles from where I live. And because you whir it up like a tornado in a blender. And it's so fast to make!

Makes 2-3 Servings
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup water or non-dairy milk of choice
2 tbs powdered veggie stock
1 tsp salt
2 green onion, chopped (One for the recipe, one for garnish)
1 cup spinach
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 Tbs dried basil
1/4 cup peanut butter
Optional:
1/4 cup coconut cream or milk
few drops of hot sauce
1 Tbs soy sauce

Just put all these ingredients in a blender (a Vita-Mix works really well, of course) and blend until smooth. This could easily be a raw recipe using fresh ingredients. I heated mine in the microwave by the cup before I ate it. You can also heat the whole recipe on the stove or whir for 5 minutes in a Vita-Mix to get it hot.

You could also make this in a pot on the stove and use a hand blender to get it creamy.

This is a nice cup of zippy soup to warm you on a cold, tornado-y day!

This 'n That Tomato Soup

Some beautiful heirloom tomatoes called out to me at Andy's Produce the other day, and I figured I could create a nice soup in my new VitaMix blender (thank you Santa).

Again, this is all approximate, I just threw things in. You could also do this in a regular blender, I think and then heat it up on the stove.

8 oz soy milk
3 big heirloom tomatoes
1 TBS no-salt veggie broth powder
2 TBS peanut butter
1 onion
1 TBS soy sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried garlic powder
1TBS agave nectar
1TBS olive oil (opt.)

Sliced spring onion for garnish

Throw it in, whir it up! Heat or serve cold.