I Cooked!!

After attending a blogger cooking class at Whole Foods the other Sunday, I was inspired to do a little cooking at home.  For those of you who know me IRL, you are probably picking your jaws up off the floor.  It's true though, I voluntarily spend my Saturday evening cooking!  After loving the vegetable marinara sauce we made at Whole Foods, I decided to try making it at home.

One change I made to the sauce was to add a small zucchini and a small yellow squash.  Since I subscribe to the "the more veggies the better!" philosophy, I loved this addition.  I just diced the squash and zucchini and added them to the sauce when I added the other veggies.

SO MANY BEAUTIFUL VEGGIES!

Other than the additions, I followed the recipe that we used at the cooking class (see below).  This included a whole bunch of fresh, diced tomatoes.  They were yummy, but cutting them was a lot of work!  The next time I make this sauce, I will most likely used canned tomatoes or at the very least a mix of fresh and canned. 

The sauce turned out great, and the extra veggies were a great addition.  I did think that it could have used a little bit of heat, though.  Who doesn't love a spicy marinara sauce?  I will try adding some crushed red pepper next time too.  And there will definitely be a next time! 

And now for the full recipe, courtesy of Chef Sarah Kurysz and Whole Foods Market Northbrook:

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, diced
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 handful spinach, chopped
• 8 tomatoes, diced including all juices
• 1/4 cup basil, chopped
• 1 T oregano, chopped
• 1 teaspoon rosemary, finely diced
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Place diced onion with olive oil in a medium sauce pan.  Saute until translucent and turning brown.  Add diced garlic and continue to saute until dark brown and very soft.  If it gets too dry, add water to keep everything moist.

Add all remaining ingredients except for salt and pepper, and 1 cup water.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Cook on high until carrots are soft, about 15 minutes.

Remove cover and allow sauce to cook down and thicken.  Taste, and add salt and pepepr as necessary.

Serve as is, with vegetable chunks, or puree using a blender.

Thanks again, Chef Sarah, for hosting our cooking class and for allowing me to share this tasty recipe!