Spaghetti, meh. Not that Sexy….or is it?

Last night I was busy catching up with work, emails and housecleaning, so I asked the husband if he wanted some spaghetti.

“Eh, sure,” he replied.

Seriously, don’t get too excited about it I thought. But that’s fine. I’ll make the spaghetti for like the 2000^th time; he’ll eat a huge plate and go on with his life as if nothing special has happened. It’s okay that he doesn’t remember that it’s what brought us together. A loooong marriage and two wonderful children. Yep, spaghetti sauce is to blame. Well, a yummy tomato sauce anyway.

I was 17…he was not. I had a date with someone else that night, but when I met him I called and faked…something dire to date #1. I grabbed my sauce- actually my mom had made the sauce- and drove to the soon-to-be-my boyfriend’s apartment. I knocked on the door, smiled sweetly and held out the jar. 30-plus years later and he’s still with me. Last night there was some silly baseball game on TV and he ate a huge plate with old-school garlic toast- just a little burned around the edges- and probably never thought about that night. But I did.

Here’s my recipe for tomato sauce. I’m not Italian, but I guess it doesn't matter: this sauce goes perfect with spaghetti, lasagna or Eggplant Parmigiana. Ahh, la dolce vita!

“No mean woman can cook well, for it calls for a light head, a generous spirit and a large heart.” Paul Gauguin 

Sauce from the Heart

½ C olive oil

2 cups of chopped onions

4 pounds ripe tomatoes- any kind will do.

6 oz tomato paste *

2 Tbs fresh basil

½ Tsp fresh oregano

1 Tsp Kosher salt

1 Tbs fresh ground pepper

4 cups of water

6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

½ cup chopped parsley

Heat oil in large deep pot and add onions. Cook over low heat for about 30 minutes. Add tomatoes, paste, herbs and spices. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the water and cook slowly, uncovered for 4 hours. Stir in garlic and simmer for 10 minutes. Cool and refrigerate or freeze.

Add ground beef, sausage or shellfish along with mushrooms or anything else in your fridge that you need to get rid of when serving. Have fun with it and give your honey a kiss from me!

 

* This is the BEST!