Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

"Spaghetti without the cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze."  I can't remember what I did yesterday but I can remember reading that quote several years ago in a recipe book. I like this recipe because it uses honey instead of sugar for the hint of sweetness Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 5 pounds of fresh tomatoes, peeled and seeded (to peel, cut a small “x” on the top and drop in to boiling water for 10 seconds and drop in to an ice bath. Skin will easily peel off)
• ¼ cup olive oil (or tallow)
• 3 medium onions, diced
• 8 cloves of fresh garlic (or more to taste), finely minced
• ⅓ cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme leaves (or ½ tsp dried)
• 1 sprig of fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried oregano)
• 2 bay leaves (remove when done)
• 2 sprigs of parsley (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 carrot (1/2 should be grated and added to sauce, the other half should be added at the end of cooking and then removed)
• 1 tablespoon honey

Instructions

1. Pour the olive oil into a large stockpot over medium heat.
2. Add diced onions, garlic and grated carrots.
3. Saute for 6-8 minutes or until onions are translucent and tender.
4. Add tomatoes, chopped basil leaves, oregano, thyme bay leaves, parsley and sea salt.
5. Simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours or until cooked down and starting to darken.
6. Add carrot piece for the last 30 minutes to absorb acidity.
7. Remove sprigs of herbs and piece of carrot.
8. Optional: Use an immersion blender to puree sauce until smooth (for a thicker sauce, skip this step.
9. Use fresh or store in the fridge up to 1 week.  This also freezes well!