Fresh Tomato Marinara...In the slow cooker!

I have major garden envy. I can barely keep the two meager spice plants I have on my window ledge alive much less tend to a garden. So, I am green with envy of those people with gardens bursting with produce that they have so much of that they need to freeze, pickle and give away. Instead, I pretend that I am one of those people blessed with bountiful produce. I go to the farmer's market and fill up my bags with the seasons' best. There's nothing better to me than tomato season, when the tomatoes are so perfect that you can eat them simply with a shake of salt and pepper.

I was eager to make something with my bags of tomatoes from this week's farmers market, but with an all day meeting that didn't seem possible. So, I decided to experiment. I threw everything I would normally put into a red sauce into the slow cooker, set it for low, and crossed my fingers. While I was at work, everything bubbled away and filled my  house with perfect Italian scents. Ahhh...Fresh Tomato Marinara...In the slow cooker!

Here's What You Need:6 cups of roughly chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp each of salt and sugar
1/3 cup of white wine (I used Chardonay)
1 1/2 tsps of Italian seasoning
2 TBS of extra virgin olive oil
2 carrots, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1-2 handfuls of fresh basil, chopped
Grated parmesan

Here's What You Do:
Put everything up to basil into the slow cooker on low for approximately 6-8 hours. Scoop everything out using a slotted spoon and put it in the food processor along with the basil to blend. Feel free to add the "juice" at the bottom as needed. Stir in parmesan and more salt to taste. You can have the batch and freeze a portion. I poured the rest over whole wheat Buitoni ravioli. Yum...

Kid Tip:My 15 month old is in the stage of throwing everything off his high chair tray and he ate every bite of this ravioli when I topped it with parmesan. He then proceeded to put the empty bowly on his head, smearing red sauce everywhere. Nice. I was still happy as a clam that this was a kid pleaser!

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