lizzie sauce!

the ubiquitous spicy tomato sauce that you've all come to know and love!

serves: uh... a lot if you're using it as pasta sauce, though it also works as pizza sauce or tomato soup. if you're doing tomato soup for sunday night dinner, i'd do double or even triple this recipe. as pasta sauce, you can make 1-2 batches, and then freeze it in reasonably-sized blocks.

ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil
3-6 cloves garlic, chopped finely
(1 med.-sized onion, grated - optional)
2-3 tablespoons dried basil
1-2 tablespoons dried oregano
(1 tablespoon dried rosemary - optional)
(a few anise seeds, crushed - optional)
1 teaspoon or so cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes
**heat the olive oil, add the garlic (and onion, if you're using it), saute until caramelized. do not burn or brown!! add the spices, simmer for just a minute til it starts to smell delicious.

1 very large can Pastene's Kitchen Ready ground tomato
1 equally large can Contadina tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste (garlic or herb flavor, if you like)
**add liquid tomato products, then paste, stir to combine. use water to rinse cans, then add water to sauce. make it slightly waterier than you want it, so that you can let it simmer longer.

1/2 cup (or slightly more) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
**add, stir, let heat until flavors combine. TASTE. add salt if needed, or cayenne pepper. if you've added too much sugar, you can counteract it with a tiny bit of white vinegar. keep adding basil and oregano til it tastes right.

IF MAKING PASTA SAUCE: eat. you're ready to go.

IF MAKING PIZZA SAUCE: substitute tinned or fresh diced tomatoes for the tomato paste.

IF MAKING TOMATO SOUP: add 1 tablespoon or so of dill. garnish with cheez-its (garlic parmesan kind!), or eat with grilled cheese sandwiches.