Straight from the Garden Sauce

One of Clayton's favorite things to do these days is to pick the ripened veggies from the garden. He might only eat the cucumbers in their original state, but he does enjoy the other vegetables when cooked in something. And I love creating new recipes to sneak in some of those most-needed nutrients.

In trying to use these fresh items from the garden, as well as make the requested spaghetti and meatballs for Clayton's birthday dinner, I came up with a homemade spaghetti sauce! Recipe as follows:

6 large tomatoes, peeled and seeded

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, finely chopped (I was suprisingly out, so substituted Tasefully Simple's Onion Onion and, of course, it was perfect! Plus, NO TEARS!!)

1 medium zucchini, shredded

1 small can of tomato paste

1 small bunch, each, parsley, basil, and oregano

2 Tbl Olive Oil

Heat oil, onions and garlic in a large saucepan until tender. Peel tomatoes, cut in half, and squeeze as much of the seeds out as possible. (If you find the tomatoes are difficult to peel, place them in a pot of boiling water for 30-60 seconds, then shock in a bowl of ice water. The peel should come of easily.) Place in blender and puree. (If you like your sauce chunky, then just pulse a bit.) Rinse zucchini thoroughly and shred using a cheese grater or something in the like. Add tomatoes, zucchini, and tomato paste to the pot. Stir and let flavors meld together.

Chop the parsley, basil and oregano, after de-stemming, and add to the mix. Salt and pepper to taste. The longer you let it simmer, the better! It was devoured by all!!