Homemade Pasta Sauce - This one Sucked!

My canning experience continued today with homemade pasta sauce. This one SUCKED! I picked up 12 pounds of tomatoes from the farmer’s market. It only cost $10 for all of it but the fresh herbs were a little more. I did buy an oregano bush so I can grow my own oregano. I planted it in a Food Network mug and put it on my kitchen counter. Let’s see how long I keep it alive.

The pasta sauce experience started out quite pleasant. Tony helped me peel the tomatoes which I know he had no fun doing. The only thing that was fun for him was watching me cook in my underwear and a tank top. I diced the tomatoes after Tony peeled them and put them in the food processor. Then they had to cook for 70 minutes. While the tomatoes cooked I prepared the roasted garlic – twice because I screwed it up the first time. I put the herbs in once the tomatoes cooked down and it smelled very strong. Too much herbs. Tony came down to give it a taste test and he loved it but we still added in two cans of tomato sauce to help lessen the potency of the herbs. So not it is not 100% homemade but I would rather have it taste better. I added two tablespoons of red pepper flakes as it directed and it was too much spice for me. I decided to make rotini since we have the fresh sauce. Unfortunately I do not care for the sauce but now I do not think Tony will ever eat another pasta sauce again unless I make it. He loves the spices in it. Next time I make the sauce I will split the sauce in half and add the pepper flakes to his.




While we ate dinner I was sealing the cans. I bought quart sized jars this time instead of the pints. Well that did not work out too well. I do not have a pot large enough to still have two inches of water above the jars to seal it. Tony suggested I put the jars in upside down. Okay…will give that a try. I pulled out the first jar after the sealing process was over with and as I turned the jar over the air pressure moved to the top. It popped open and sprayed boiling hot pasta sauce all over my chest. Mother F*CK*R!! I ripped off my top and started wiping myself down. Of course Tony walks into the kitchen at that exact moment and thinks he just walked into a Girls Gone Wild video. I have red burn spots all over my chest now. I put the sauce that was in that jar into two pints jars and started the sealing process all over again. The other quart sized jar I left upside down until it cooled. It sealed just fine. The pasta sauce looks just like the salsa but a little darker. I need to come up with a creative way to mark the jars.

Tomorrow I am going to find a larger pot for the quart sized jars. I like them better since they take up less space in my pantry. And then I am going to try making pickles. This one seems much easier. Canning is a lot of freaken work but it does make me proud when I look in my pantry and see food I made. If I keep this up next spring Tony and I will have to put in a garden so it will not cost hardly anything to make.