Summer Pasta Sauce

I have had a couple of requests for my pasta sauce recipe. In the summer I love making pasta sauce with fresh veggies and herbs from the Farmer's Market. Well, last night I had veggies that were begging to be used so I made a big batch of sauce to freeze. My recipe isn't rocket science, I just make it up as I go. Every time it is a little different, depending on what veggies and herbs I have on hand. Here is the general recipe:

Maria's Pasta Sauce

Ingredients

• Olive Oil
• Onion, diced-I usually do half an onion or so, depending on the size of my batch
• Garlic, minced-Are you a garlic lover? You decide on how much to put in!
• Fresh Vegetables, chopped-Use whatever you have on hand. My favorites are: zucchini, yellow squash,eggplant, peppers of any color-red is my favorite:), mushrooms, and artichokes.
• Herbs- Fresh basil is the best! Luckily, our plant is doing great:) If you don't have any, you can toss in dried basil, oregano, Italian seasoning. Sometimes I use fennel seed too! Love that flavor!
• Tomatoes of course! If you have a garden use chopped fresh tomatoes, but canned diced tomatoes are fine too!
• Tomato paste-to thicken the sauce, this is optional!
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Saute the onion until tender. Add in the garlic.2. Toss in the chopped veggies. Cook until soft. Try to make sure they are all the same size so they cook at the same time. 3. Add in your tomatoes, fresh or canned. If you need to thicken the sauce add in a couple tablespoons of tomato paste. Stir until it dissolves. 4. Add your herbs and salt and pepper to taste. 5. Let simmer for a good while to bring out the flavors!6. Enjoy or store in the fridge or freezer for future use.

**If you like a kick throw in some crushed red pepper!**

Serve with pasta…see our previous post on how to do it homemade style:)

If you have any questions let me know, but again, this is a do it yourself recipe:) Get creative and use produce from your garden or local Farmer's Market! I just love summer time!