Pasta sauce recipe is below. First, you have to hear about our weekend.

We had an interesting weekend being survivors of the Edmonton earthquake.  You don’t believe me, do you? Check it out: Tremors from 7.7-magnitude earthquake in B.C. felt in Edmonton | CTV Edmonton News.

Being on the 6 o’clock news was more fun than the earthquake I tell you. It was a lot of hoo-hah for a few swinging blinds and towels, but we were begged in the cutest way, and how can you say no? Especially when it’s the news program my Mom watches.

Anyhow. Pasta sauce. Inspired by a picture I came across on Teresa Spinelli’s Facebook page, I said to myself, “I want what she’s having for supper!”.:

The greatest pasta sauces in the world start with a glass of red wine, so I got that going first. Next, I rummaged in the back of the fridge, the cupboards and counter-tops to see what we had on hand. I was lucky today and found:

Red Peppers, slightly wrinkly, but still edible
Yellow Peppers, fresh as they day they were picked
One fresh tomato that was a bit soft, but no fuzz
Punnet of grape tomatoes, slightly wrinkled (the beginnings of sun dried tomatoes I tell myself)
Saucer full of whole fresh garlic
Bottle of strained tomatoes
Assortment of bottled herbs and spices, namely, basil, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, chili peppers, granulated garlic, pepper, salt, dash of sugar

Method: Rough chop your peppers and tomatoes. Add to large sauce pan with olive oil. Add peeled garlic (I leave it whole). Add your assortment of herbs and spices. Cook until cooked. If you need more specifics, cook until it is soft and fragrant.

VERRRRRRRRY carefully, transfer the contents of the saucepan to your blender or food processor. Whir until blended to your preferred blendedness. Perhaps you prefer it chunky and omit this step. That would be fine.

Crack open a bottle of strained tomatoes, or diced tomatoes, or tomato sauce. Whatever you have. Ketchup won’t work. Just saying. Pour a bit of this in the blender if your blended veggies are a bit thick. But don’t tell your vegetables you think they are thick. They will be offended because vegetables can be sensitive that way.

Meanwhile, back to the pan, you should have some sticky vegetable goodness on the bottom of the pan. Splosh a glug of red wine (or water, or balsamic vinegar) into this sticky goodness, let it burble for a second or two, then stir to pick up all that flavour.

VERRYYYYYYYY carefully add the whirred up vegetables in the blender to this, add the rest of the strained tomatoes, diced tomatoes or tomato sauce. Stir. Cover. Simmer.

There you have it. Easy. Serve over your favourite shape of pasta. Grate a bit of Parmesan cheese to make it even better. Sprinkle chopped parsley over the works if you are feeling like a 1950’s housewife.

OK. Now for the truth. This recipe IS easy, however, it has to be one of the messiest things I make. If you know me, you know I’m a pretty neat and tidy kind of gal. But this type of recipe leaves our kitchen in a splattered tomato/roasted pepper mess. We’ll be dabbing at tomato spots on the walls for weeks ahead.