Gifts from the Garden

Garlic, herbs and mint hanging to dry, endless green salads with beautiful flowers to garnish, cukes that need pickling, freshly dug potatoes and pulled corn, bright orange and red tomatoes for sauces and omelets... yes, even though I'm sure our harvest could be improved, we feel lucky to have so much goodness coming from the Earth! I love to be able to make so many delicious homemade meals.

Years ago, we gave up on store bought pasta sauce to cut down on all the extra sugar and preservatives, and we've never looked back. Today I wanted to share with you our no fuss pasta sauce recipe, which is also great on calzones and pizza. It's quick and easy, and a zillion times better than anything on the shelves. This is usually enough for one box of pasta.

Wildwood Tomato Sauce:
Ingredients:
- 4 to five medium tomatoes (Roma are good, but we often use the equivalent weight in cherry and sungold tomatoes... any kind will work... choose your favorite!)
- half a medium onion diced
- 4 to 5 cloves of garlic
-teaspoon fresh basil chopped
-1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano chopped
- handful of baby spinach
- splash of balsamic or apple cider vinegar (optional)
- spoon of honey (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
- olive oil for cooking

In a frying pan on medium heat, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil and honey until onions are translucent. Adding the honey now gives a slight caramelizing effect. Next add the spinach and fresh herbs and cook a few minutes. Now add your chopped tomatoes and all other ingredients to the mix. Simmer for five to ten minutes, and then puree. You can leave it a little chunky if you like or blend it smooth. Poor back in the pan and let simmer on low for another ten to twenty minutes to let the flavors seep in. It doesn't have to cook for hours to taste great! Make sure to taste test it to see if you need more salt or honey. Enjoy! (We usually start the pasta water right before making the sauce, and they are usually finished around the same time.)