Friday, October 26 Spaghetti with Roasted Plum Tomato Sauce (Candle 79), Salad and Garlic Bread Rating: 4.25

It’s been a little while since I’ve made homemade tomato sauce and Seth asked me to make some for him with veggies in it. I love the very easy Roasted Plum Tomato Sauce recipe in the Candle 79 Cookbook. Just a word about that book before I get into the sauce… I love it. The recipes are, for the most part, pretty easy to make and don’t require you to make 10 other recipes first. Yes, some recipes do take a long time, but it’s a gourmet book, so quit yer complaining. Still, even the ones that are a little more time consuming don’t chain you to the stove for hours at a time, and if you plan well and do a little prep work, you won’t even notice the extra time. Anyway, on to the sauce. I first made it shortly after I got the book last Christmas (thanks Seth’s mom!) and we had it with the Spaghetti and Wheatballs. (the wheatballs are amazing) The sauce does take about an hour to make, but most of that time is leaving stuff alone and letting it cook. Normally, when I make it, I don’t alter the recipe at all. This time, we wanted some more veggies in it so I added diced red bell pepper at the same time I sautéed the onions and broccoli with everything else. Right before it was done, I added some spinach. The sauce is very chunky so I normally puree it a bit with an immersion blender. I didn’t do that for quite long enough this time, but it was still really good. Seth the Champion Salad and Garlic Bread Maker rounded out the meal with his world famous salad and bread.