the adventures of clay ball

 

 

 

 

For a simple & delicious everyday meal, I start out with a jar of tomato sauce…usually I get the kind with healthiest ingredients that happens to be on sale…

 

Of all the different brands, I haven’t found my true tomato-sauce love yet…(edited to add:  I did just try Barilla Sweet Pepper sauce today, which was especially delicious!)

 

In any case, I always add 3 magical ingredients to make the sauce familiar & delicious each time…a carrot, an onion, & garlic!

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1 jar tomato sauce 

 

1 carrot, grated

 

1 onion, diced

 

2 or more cloves garlic  (cooking garlic brings peace to the dinner table!)

 

canola oil, the heart-healthy oil found among the other oils at the supermarket

 

 

 

First, prepare the vegetables:

 

Wash, peel, & grate the carrot (if no grater is handy, you can just finely slice  it, or using a vegetable peeler, just cut the carrot into little ribbons)

 

Peel & finely dice the garlic cloves.

 

Peel & dice the onion.

 

In a large saucepan, heat 3 or 4 tablespoons canola oil on medium heat until nice & heated through.

 

Add onion & garlic to pot, stirring frequently, and allowing them to soften & even become a little golden in color.

 

 

 

Then add the grated carrot to the mix, stirring frequently enough so nothing burns.  Cook for about 5 minutes more until the carrots are softened a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

Add the jar of tomato sauce to the other ingredients, and mix well.  Cover the pot, allowing it to simmer, & stirring occasionally. 

 

If the sauce seems to be too thick for your taste, you can just add some water.

 

Cook  for 20 minutes or more,  until the rest of your meal is done, allowing the carrots to soften and the flavors to blend.   It usually gets better the longer it simmers…

 

 

Tip:  Some tomato sauces have a very sharp, acid flavor to them…then I add enough canola oil to the sauce to cut the acidity, until it tastes good.  If the sauce is extremely acid or the herbs too strong,  I will get another brand next time!

  

 

Finally, add salt & freshly ground pepper to taste…for extra heartiness, you can add more canola oil to your liking.

 

 

Occasionally, for a spicy sauce, I will add some cayenne pepper.  Cayenne is said to be healthy for your heart as well & is just delicious…

 

 

 

…& here it is, with butterfly pasta & a bit of grated cheese on top!

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

love,

 

Clay Ball