You-don't-have-to-go-to-the-store Tomato Sauce

To make up for the recent silence around here (hey, I was traveling) I offer up this easy and tasty recipe.  Since getting back to Chicago, I have yet to go to the grocery store for any real shopping, and our produce doesn't get delivered until Thursday (we have no milk or chocolate, for shame!)  After a bit of non-napping this afternoon, the thought of any shopping with Miss Ella-Bean was less than appealing.  Luckily, I have a very generous neighbor and friend who provided me with a bevy of home-grown tomatoes - yum!  Just add a bit of basil (which I have growing on our porch), garlic and salt/pepper/olive oil and voila - easy tomato sauce!  Here's how...

You will need:
- 1 to 1.5 pound of tomatoes
- 3/4 cup basil
- 1 to 5 cloves garlic (I *love* garlic, so I go a bit heavy)
- 1 Tbl olive oil
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 3 to 5 grinds of pepper
- 1 box spaghetti or quinoa pasta
- Parmesan for topping

Stats:
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 6-9 minutes, since the only thing you actually cook is the pasta!
Serves: 4 people (or 2 really hungry people)

What to do:

Cook pasta according to box directions.

While water is boiling, combine tomatoes, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil together in food processor.  Pulse until it reaches the desired consistency.  You may need to play with the salt/pepper amounts to taste (I generally just eye-ball these things).

Combine pasta and sauce, top with Parmesan, enjoy knowing you are eating a lot of veggies!

Tip: Want to add more veggies?  Go for it!  I also added sweet peppers to mine to give it a little more oomph.  You could also do a bit of onion, mango or pineapple - yum!

Ella-Bean enjoyed sucking the sauce off the noodles...I undercooked them just a touch too much...perfect for me, but too hard for her to chew (perhaps that's the reason for the face she's making!!!)