​This tomato sauce is super easy because you don’t have to peel the tomatoes, and don’t have to boil the sauce to get the excess water out of  it. It’s thicker than the other sauce and makes a good sauce for pizza.
 
Tomatoes
Garlic
Onions
Bell peppers, if you want
 
Put all of these on a cookie sheet and roast them in your oven under the broiler until softened but not burned. Puree everything in a food processor or blender, and season with salt, pepper, basil leaves, and a little bit of sugar. Use now or freeze.

​Here’s a basic sauce recipe. Taking the seeds and pulp out make a thicker sauce, that you don’t have to boil so much.
 
1 1/2 t. olive oil
1/2 c. minced onions
2 garlic cloves, more to taste
1 T. white wine, more to taste, red works too.
2 T. sugar (more to taste)
4 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped (2 pounds)
1 c. fresh basil
1/2 c. fresh fennel leaves, if you have it.
1/4 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. freshly ground pepper
 
Heat the oil in a saucepan over low heat. Sauté the onions in the oil for about 5 minutes. Keep the pan covered. Add the wine and cook for 5 minutes more. Stir in the tomatoes, basil, sail, and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or longer.
 

​You’ll need to be at home for around 3 hours to complete this process. But it’s well worth it if you make things in the winter months using canned tomatoes. This process can get messy!
 
What you’ll need:

• Canning jars with new lids (you can only use the seal once)
  
•  A canning pot or pot large enough to submerge your filled jars with 1 inch of water over the top of them.
  
• Another large pot to peel the tomatoes. A small pot to simmer the jar lids 
• Tomatoes
• Bottled lemon juice
• Salt

What to do:
1. Sterilize your jars in the dishwasher or by boiling in a hot water bath in the canner. Place new lids in a saucepan and simmer at around 180 degrees, but do not boil. Leave in warm water until you’re ready for them.
 
2. Boil a large pot of water. Submerge whole tomatoes and boil for 30—60 seconds, until skins crack. Remove and place in cold water, peel. Cut off stems and core.
 
3. Remove jars from hot water or dishwasher. 
Quart jars: Add 2 T. bottled lemon juice and 1tsp salt to each jar.  Pint jars: Add 1 T. lemon juice and 1/2 tsp salt.
 
4. Pack tomatoes into jars, leaving 1/2 inch of head space. Juice should squish out of tomatoes and fill air spaces in jar. Pack them in there really tight. Helps to have a little funnel for this.  
 
5. Wipe off the rims of the jars to make sure you get a good seal. Take the lids out of the warm water with a lid wand or tongs, and place on jars. Screw bands onto jars until fingertip tight. They don't need to be too tight.
 
6. As you fill each jar, submerge it into your boiling water canning pot. Water should be simmering, and when all jars are in, there should be 1-2 inches of water above the tops of the jars.  Add more water if needed.
 
7. Boil for 55 minutes. (45 minutes at sea level, an hour and five minutes if you happen to be above 6000 feet elevation). 
 
8. Turn off the heat and remove the lid. Let cool five minutes and remove jars. Let them sit on your counter. The seals will seal as they cool. If  one of the lids isn’t sealed after 24 hours, you should use those tomatoes or store them in the fridge. 
 

​You can freeze tomatoes whole in ziplock freezer bags. Be sure to run large tomatoes under hot water after getting them out of the freezer. You can use them in soups or sauces throughout the winter. Cherry tomatoes can be frozen as well and are great in a quiche or on pizza in the winter, they taste just like cooked fresh cherry tomatoes.  

Recipe from Buzzfeed Food.

Serves 2

Ingredients
1 small spaghetti squash
2 T. olive oil, divided
Salt and pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. red pepper flakes (optional)
2 cups broccoli florets
½ cup vegetable stock
1 cup cannellini beans, drained, and roughly mashed with a fork
⅓ cup nutritional yeast

Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Cut about half an inch off of the top and bottom of the spaghetti squash, and discard. Cut the squash crosswise into rings about 1-inch thick, and run your knife around the inside of the rings to cut the seeds out.

3. Drizzle 1 T. olive oil over the baking sheet, then spread the squash rings over it, moving them around a little so that the undersides are evenly coated with a little bit of oil. Season with salt and pepper, then flip the rings over and season again.

4. Roast in the preheated oven until the squash is tender, about 30 minutes. When the squash is done, set it aside on the counter while you cook the other vegetables. It’ll be easier to handle if you let it cool for 10 minutes before taking it apart.

5. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes (if using), season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, just until the garlic is fragrant, about a minute. Add the broccoli and vegetable stock and turn the heat down to medium low.

6. Season with a little more salt and pepper, and cook until the broccoli is bright green and al dente and the vegetable stock has reduced to about half. Add the nutritional yeast and stir everything together, so that the yeast and the remaining stock make a sauce. If the sauce is super thick and clumpy, add more stock or water, a tablespoon at a time, until it’s thick but still a little runny.

7. Add the cooked squash and toss everything together, then divide into two bowls and serve immediately.
 

Easy version and delicious!

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, minced
1 medium onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 hamburger patties
1 glass of water
3 T. olive oil
3 T. chili powder
1 can of red kidney beans
3 tomatoes, diced
4 mushrooms, diced

Preparation 
Heat the oil on medium-low heat in a large pot. Add the onions and the garlic. Put lid on and let it cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Crumble the hamburgers in a plate, then add it to the pot and stir well. Put the lid on and let it cook for 10 more minutes. Add the kidney beans, tomatoes, bell pepper, carrots, mushrooms, and the chili powder. Mix well and let it cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes on low heat.
 

You can skip the chicken instructions and make it a vegetarian!

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
2 T. olive oil
1 large onion, halved and sliced
1 large bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 large zucchini, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 t. grated, peeled ginger
Pinch of red pepper flakes
3 T. soy sauce
3 T. Rice vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation 
Season chicken with salt and pepper. In large non skillet, heat 1 T. oil over high heat. Add half the chicken; cook stirring constantly, until opaque throughout, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining chicken

Add remaining tablespoon oil to pan, along with the onion, bell pepper, zucchini. Cook stirring constantly , until is tender and golden, about 4 minutes (reduce heat if browning too quickly).
​
Reduce heat to medium; add garlic, ginger, and red-pepper flakes; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds. Stir in soy sauce and vinegar; remove from heat. Add chicken and any accumulated juices; toss to coat.. Serve with rice.

This recipe is very similar to a stew made in Ghana. Recipe from “The World of Street Food”.

Serves 6

Ingredients
1 pound chicken in pieces or 1 pound cooked black-eyed beans for a vegetarian version
2 onions, finely chopped
1 c. peanut butter (best to use unsweetened)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
6 tomatoes, chopped
2 T. tomato paste
1-2 chilies, left whole
2 c. chopped any kind of veggies (carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplant, squash, cabbage…), cooked and retained stock
1/2 c. oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation 
Begin by heating the oil in a large cooking pot. Then sauté the chicken and remove the pieces when they are golden on all sides.

Now fry the onions in the same pan over high heat. Next, out in the pepper, tomatoes, 1 T. tomato paste, and chilies, Fry for a few minutes before adding the stock, peanut butter, 1 T. tomato paste and any other veggies you want. Stir to mix the ingredients and then simmer gently for a few minutes.
​
Add the chicken and the cooked vegetables. Season, then leaves to simmer, covered, for 30-60 minutes or until everything is cooked. Stir frequently and add more water or stock if it becomes too dry. Serve with rice and sliced avocado.
 

Morgane’s mother makes this when she has too many zucchinis.

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 Medium zucchinis
4 medium tomatoes
7 oz. quinoa
1 egg
1 medium onion
Parmesan or gruyere cheese, grated
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation 
Preheat oven to 410 F. Put the quinoa in a pot and cover it with cold water (twice the amount of water for one amount of quinoa). Bring it to a boil, salt and let it cook slowing for about 10 minutes. Discard the water.

Cut the zucchinis in thin slices. Peel (you can boil them before hand to make it easier to remove the skin) and diced the tomatoes and the onion. Heat up the olive oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion. Add the zucchini slices and the tomatoes and let it cook on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

Add the quinoa to the pan and mix in the egg.
​
Transfer the mixture to greased, oven-safe casserole. Sprinkle the cheese on top and let it cook in the oven for 15 minutes.
 

Smitten Kitchen Recipe

Ingredients
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
1 T. olive oil
3/4 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, finely chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 bunch flat-leaf spinach (10 to 14 ounces), washed well, tough stems removed, chopped (about 7 cups)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)
2 T, butter

​Preparation 
In a small saucepan, combine tomatoes (with their juice) and 3 cups water. Bring just to a simmer; keep warm over low heat.

In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add sausage and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up sausage with a spoon, until sausage is opaque and onion has softened, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add rice; cook, stirring until well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 minute.

Add about 2 cups hot tomato mixture to rice; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes.

Continue adding tomato mixture, 1 cup at a time, waiting for one cup to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy and just tender, about 25 minutes total (you may not have to use all the liquid).

Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach, Parmesan, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately (risotto will thicken as it cools), and sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired.