Bruschetta-Marinara

Being a stay-at-home mom with a kid who's still just tagging along in your uterus affords ample time for new projects and discoveries.  My current obsession is gardening and I find myself absolutely swimming in tomatoes, zucchinis, squash, and herbs.  Fortunately I also have time to find new recipes to make use of all this super-fresh produce.  My latest discovery?  Marinara sauce from scratch.  I know, people have been making this for centuries, so maybe it's not much of a "discovery", exactly.  But in my house growing up all we ever had was Ragu--which, don't get me wrong, is pretty darn tasty, if not exactly authentic.  I've been toying with recipes for an easy (read: doesn't have to simmer all day) sauce for awhile now, and finally got one to turn out right.  I thought I'd share in case anyone else finds themselves with way too many tomatoes for their own good.  Here's the rough idea of what worked for me:

Ingredients:
8 whole tomatoes, chopped into small cubes
3-6 garlic cloves, depending on how much you like garlic (I used 6)
1/2 onion, finely chopped
Fresh basil
Oregano (fresh or dried)
Salt & pepper
2T Sugar
1/4 C Mushrooms (optional)
Olive oil

First, in a medium saucepan, brown the garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat
Add tomatoes and increase heat.  Bring to a boil.
Add onion, oregano, salt, pepper, sugar, and about 1/4C olive oil.  Keep at a moderate boil for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. 
Add fresh basil and mushrooms, if desired.  (At this point you could also throw in other semi-soft vegetables you have around the house, like zucchini or olives).  Boil for 10 more minutes or until sauce is thick.
Serve over pasta (or do what I did and use it as the sauce on chicken parmesan).

This sauce came out sort of chunky, almost like a bruschetta, and Jeff and I ended up spooning some onto garlic bread to use that way, too.  So the texture's a  bit nontraditional for marinara sauce, but the flavor was really rich and complex.  It was definitely a hit in our house.

Bon appetit!