Hey, I made my own spaghetti sauce last night and it was mighty tasty! ( edit..I lied...the whole wheat pasta did have 2mg sodium and a bit of sugars. Not much, though.)

Well then............what's the............hic..............point?

Actually that's a myth. I read about it just the other day, but can't find that article. Here's another:

http://www.chow.com/food-news/54140/does-cooking-alcohol-really-burn-it-all-off/

  

Is tomato puree the same as tomato paste?

Clam sauce for pasta

olive oil
minced garlic
Minced onion
butter
oregano
basil
black pepper
minced clams with juice

Sautee garlic & onion in oil.
Add butter. When melted add remaining stuf and cook for a couple of minutes.
Dat's it.

Or beer!

Ah, thanks. We don't have puree here.
Reckon one can dilute tomato paste with some vino for a top notch puree, eh?

We can get fairly large cans of tomato paste... about the size of canned corn kernels.

Tried this. Turned out great.

olive oil
crushed garlic
basil
oregano
a wee bit of thyme
sautee chicken breast (sliced accross the grain) in above
when cooked add
diced Roma tomatoes

That sounds wonderful, oskar. While I love a more traditional red sauce, they do not like me so much. I take my tomatoes only when they still look like tomatoes these days to avoid a great deal of uncomfortableness - and yours sounds righ up my alley.

Beth, try vinegar, about a tbs. It takes away the acidity. I use that or cocoa in my chili too. Works like a charm.

I have tried so many things and still no luck with tomatoes are cooked so soft that they no longer look like tomatoes.
I stick to raw tomates and warmed tomatoes.....with reluctance.

Sounds strange I know but I found that tip long ago in a cookbook with a recipe for "Chili con carne" which can be quite spicy. It does work. You could probably use it in any tomato based sauce.

The vinegar tip I got from friend of hubby's who swears it works. I've never tried it. Maybe the acedic acid neutralizes the Citric and Malic acids in the tomatoes/sauce/paste?  I just read that you can also add baking soda, which makes more sense lol. But just a tiny bit at a time. 

  

The tomatoes were only slightly cooked - mostly to get them hot.
Reason we did that was 'cuz we got 6 over-ripe tomatoes for a half dollar, so why not try it, eh?

  

Since i know Richard will love it, and I could try a small portion, I think you talked me into it :-)

If raw tomatoes (tomatos in Quaylian) don't bother you I shouldn't think there'd be a problem.

Tried the above with beef instead of chicken.
Don't bother. It wasn't very good.

Richard is not very big on red meat - we definitely eat our share of poultry in this house !!