Watch Us Eat!: Home made spaghetti, part 3 of 3

And now for the sauce. This recipe comes from a friend of mine, Megan, who put me up for a few months when I got out of college and hadn't quite found a job yet. She made this sauce for me and another friend one time, made of just vegetables in a saute pan, but it was different than the stuff you get in jars. And good! I've tinkered with the recipe since then and have come up with my own version.

You will need 3-4 tomatoes (or a big can of diced tomatoes in puree), a small onion, a large pepper, 1/2 to 1 pound of Italian sausage in bulk, some salt, pepper, fresh oregano and basil. That's what's in the cup. Kate picked some fresh from our pots of herbs outside, along with the pepper from our garden. We would have had fresh tomatoes too, but the weather isn't cooperating.

Start by browning the sausage. While that's going on, dice your tomatoes, and cut your pepper and onion into large chunks. I like my vegetables chunky, but if you don't, feel free to dice them finer.

Now add the peppers and onions. Use the rendered fat from the sausage to brown them a little. If there's not enough fat, add some olive oil.

Add the tomatoes and herbs. At this point, you're cooking the tomatoes down for their liquid, and the herbs for their flavor.

It you've picked up a little fond (?) at the bottom, that's fantastic. Use a little red wine to deglaze the pan. You can see a little undeglazed (glazed?) pan at around 7 o'clock on the pan in the picture, along with a puddle of red wine in the middle. You don't need much; the tomatoes' juices will help along.