Spaghetti with Roasted Tomato Sauce

When I'm canning seasonal produce like tomato products, the first thing I worry about is whether I've canned enough. The reason being is I want enough of that particular product to last until the next season or about a year. So when I tell someone I just finished canning 48 jars of roasted tomato sauce often the first question is "What are you going to do with that many jars?" Consider though that this amount would work out to four pints per month, roughly one per week. In reality I aim for the hundred mark for the roasted tomato sauce. The method for making and canning roasted tomato sauce can be found in the archives here.

The question of what to do with some home preserved foods is a common one. It comes up over and over. The trick to home preserving especially canning is to know what your family eating habits are. Yes, 32 jars of homemade dill pickles look wonderful and they are cheap but will you use that many jars in one year? So start with the end in mind always having some idea of how you are later going to use the product. Always adjust the amount preserved to reflect your family's needs. Many of the recipes I post use one or more home preserved foods. I'm going to try posting more ways to use up your home preserved foods

Spaghetti with Roasted Tomato Sauce

Spaghetti with roasted tomato sauce is one of my fast foods. It is very inexpensive, filling and can easily be made in 15 minutes. To borrow one of Rachel Ray's phrases, "how good is that?" It is meatless but I like to sprinkle a little fresh Parmesan cheese on top. Without the cheese the meal is vegetarian.

There are no real measurements for this meal so it can be adjusted for the number of people being served. I used:

1 pint roasted tomato sauce
2 handfuls fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp butter or olive oil
1/2 medium chopped onion
4 sprigs fresh parsley
about 6 pieces fresh chives
about 3-inch diameter spaghetti
splash of olive oil
a good pinch of sea salt
2 tbsp fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Bring water to a boil in a large sauce pan. At the same time, slice the mushrooms and sauté in butter or olive oil frypan. Chop the onions and cut the chives into small pieces. Add a splash of olive oil, salt and pasta to the water. Heat sauce in small saucepan. Remove mushrooms from heat. Cook pasta until el dente then drain. Place pasta on plate and top with sauce, onions, chives, mushrooms and Parmesan cheese (if desired). Garnish with fresh parsley.
Serves 4