Barefoot (and not pregnant) in the kitchen, part 1: Homemade spaghetti sauce

I had a bonus day at home today since Diva Daughter was not feeling well and needed to stay home from school. So I watered the garden (it was pretty dry since I was gone the week it actually got hot), straightened up a bit, and then decided to partake in some kitchen chemistry.

Since I'd been gone for a week, several of my tomatoes had ripened, and I was on the verge of being overtaken by ripe tomatoes. I've been giving them away like crazy, but between the vines and my weekly box from Terra Organics, my cup had runneth over. But before he left in the morning, the hubby made a good suggestion: We can always make tomato sauce.

Why yes, yes we can. And yes I did. I'd never made tomato sauce from scratch. I've made my own spaghetti sauce, but from canned tomatoes. Never actually started with tomatoes. But today I did, and it was yummy scrumptious. Even the Boy enjoyed it. Here's the approximate recipe:

TC's Homemade Spaghetti Sauce -- with BACON
Approx. 3 quarts of diced tomatoes, several varieties Several leaves of fresh basil, chopped A couple branches of fresh rosemary A couple branches of fresh oregano Red wine, approx. 1/2 cup Several cloves of garlic, chopped 1 onion, chopped A couple pinches of kosher salt 1 pound bacon, cooked and chopped

I know, I know ... real exact. But, basically, put all the tomatoes in a large pan on the stove and cook over medium heat at a low boil for about 1-1/2 to 2 hours. As it simmers, add in the above ingredients as they're ready. It ends up to be a lovely and chunky and very, very fresh (esp. if you have the herbs in your garden) tomato sauce. Serve over your favorite noodles. Smile a lot more.*

*To some, cooking is an art or a means to feed. To me, cooking is one of the best kinds of therapy.