Marinara Sauce / Why cooking is like putting on pants.

I always say that I don't actually know how to cook. What I do know how to do is follow directions. A recipe is directions. Ingredients are tools. Get the right tools, follow the directions, and you should end up with edible foodstuffs. There's a great deal of comfort in that. So often in life we do exactly what it is we think we should do, and do not end up with the desired results. Not so with cooking.

It's like putting on pants. As babies, we thought wearing pants was impossible. We screamed and shouted and insisted on our mommies and daddies do it for us. Often we didn't wear pants at all. And we went around pant-less. But then we were given the directions to put on pants, and we mastered those directions. All of a sudden, wearing pants became a simple concept! Seriously, who do you know (aside from toddlers) who has difficulty with their pants? Probably very few people.

And the great thing is, once you learn how to put on pants, you can put on all sorts of pants! Short pants, long pants, ugly pants, dress pants, yoga pants, jeggings. Although, tbh, everyone would prefer you didn't wear jeggings. Those things are awful.

Now compare making a casserole to pants. A casserole has a base, it has a filling, and it has a topping. It usually contains some sort of carb or starch as well. Once you have this concept (i.e. directions), you can make all kinds of casseroles! Same concept applies to cookies, muffins, stews, soups, you get the idea.

This brings me to tomato sauce I make my own marinara sauce. And I pretty much made up the recipe. I looked up a bunch of recipes, got the general directions, found out the general ingredients (tools) used and went from there. I can provide you with the ingredients, and the general directions. But not the measurements. This is because I do it all to taste. I encourage you to experiment with the ingredients until you find something you like.

Ingredients

one can of crushed tomatoes ( I use Unico)
tomato paste - 1-2 tbsp (optional)
Olive oil - about a tbsp
minced garlic (about .... 4 cloves?)
one onion- minced
3-4 stalks of celery- chopped
one red bell pepper- minced (optional)
one packaged of fresh basil- chopped
dried basil - add to taste
dried oregano - to taste
salt and pepper - to taste
red pepper flakes - to taste (optional)

Directions

In a large sauce pan, saute the onion, celery and red bell pepper (if using) in the oil until the onions are soft. Add garlic and saute for a few minutes more. Add crushed tomato and tomato paste (if using). stir everything around

Now start adding the spices. Use all the fresh basil, but do everything else to taste. I find I end up using quite a bit of salt. But maybe salt isn't your thing. Maybe you want more oregano, who knows. Taste often. Stop when it's delicious. Simmer for about 10 minutes to allow flavours to develop.

Note 1: You will notice there is no sweetener in this sauce. I like my sauce savoury, not sweet.
Note 2: You could also add nutritional yeast for a more cheesy flavour.