Farmer's Market Sauce

This sugarless sauce is doubly sweet if you grow your own produce, but I like to buy mine at the local Farmer's Market.  When making this sauce, it is very important to use ripe, homegrown or locally grown Roma tomatoes to get the appropriate level of fruity sweetness without the addition of sugar that can make the sauce taste candy-like.  Supermarket tomatoes leave you with a flat flavor. Fresh basil & parsley are best, but you can find a great prepared substitute in a tube at most grocery produce sections.

10 Roma tomatoes

2T olive oil

1 red onion

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

2 T Balsamic Vinegar

2 T Basil from a tube

OR

a handful of fresh basil coarsely chopped

1 handful fresh parsley (skip this if you don't have fresh parsley)

1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese

cooked whole wheat pasta

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil
   
2. Fill a large bowl with ice & water
   
3. Plunge tomatoes into boiling water & boil until skin splits
   
4. Remove tomatoes with split skins as they split & plunge into ice water until cool enough to handle
   
5. Remove peels from tomatoes, chop to desired size, & set aside to develop juice
   
6. Heat olive oil in a large pan
   
7. Add onion & cook until slightly translucent
   
8. Add minced or pressed garlic & stir
   
9. Carefully add vinegar, stir, & cook 1 minute
   
10. Stir in basil until incorporated
    
11. Add tomatoes & simmer 10 minutes
    
12. Serve hot over whole wheat pasta or can for a mid-winter treat
    

Don't add meat to this delicious sauce. Instead, serve it as a side dish for any meat. I like to serve it with Parmesean Chicken.