Tomato Sauce
prep time: 00:15 cook time: 03:00 serves: 8-15 cost: $3.85 vegetarian
	This recipe was developed over time by an actual Italian-American woman to provide superior tomato sauce with a minimum amount of effort using modern appliances. The traditional recipe calls for squeezing tomatoes with your bare hands for hours, but thanks to the clever person who invented the blender, you can make tomato sauce while you write up your thesis proposalÑprovided you have the additional modern convenience of a home computer.
3 T olive oil 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1/4 c fresh parsley 1 t oregano 1/2-1 t crushed red pepper 1 t black pepper 1/2 t salt 4 28 oz cans whole, imported, peeled plum tomatoes 1-2 small cans tomato paste (optional)	If you're a person who reads the side bar carefully, you'll have already noticed that the recipe serves 8 to 15. We're not kidding, really, it does. So what we usually do is make this big batch, use some right away, and freeze the rest in pint yogurt containers, so we can enjoy it for months to come. Put olive oil in the bottom of a large 3-4 qt pot. Add garlic and spices to oil and let sit 10 minutes before heating the oil (this allows the flavors to soak into the oil). Meanwhile, open up the cans of tomatoes and pour the contents of one can into a blender. Blend for a few seconds until tomatoes are chopped up. Heat the oil on medium, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is golden brown (don't let it burn!) and add 1/2 (=1/2 can) of the blended tomatoes. Stir some more. When the contents of the pot are boiling, add the other half of the blended tomatoes. Put the next can in the blender and continue adding half a can at a time until all the tomatoes are used up. Allow the sauce to boil and turn the heat down to very low. Cover the sauce leaving a little crack open for steam to escape Cook the sauce on low heat, stirring every half hour or so (once you are sure the heat is low enough so it won't burn). I usually cook it for 3-4 hours, but it is good at any time after an hour or so. It just gets better the longer you cook it. If it is not thick enough, add a can or two of tomato paste