Whoa! I hate to disagree, but I'd be very careful about adding garlic. It's a low-acid veggie and in sufficient amounts would lead to problems. You could use some and reduce another low-acid veggie like onion to compensate. The same is true of fresh herbs. All those amendments must be accounted for one way or another. Roasting MAY not be a problem if you make sure your sauce does not get too thick (adding red wine would help restore the consistency). What I mean is that density is also an issue in processing as it affects heat penetration. Tested recipes are predicated on density as well as pH. That's why canning something like creamed corn takes so long. It's not just low-acid; it's very starchy. There are some excellent tested pasta sauces posted on the Forum. You might compare your recipe to these: Chunky Basil Pasta Sauce Recipe By : Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Canning & Preserving Dressings, Marinades, Sauces Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 8 cups (2 L) coarsely chopped peeled tomatoes -- (about 9-12 tomatoes or 4 lb/2 kg) 1 cup chopped onion -- (250 mL) 3 cloves garlic -- minced 2/3 cup red wine -- (150 mL) 1/3 cup red wine vinegar (5 % strength) -- (75 mL) 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil -- (125 mL) 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley -- (15 mL) 1 teaspoon pickling salt -- (5 mL) 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar -- (2 mL) 1 6-oz/156 mL) can tomato paste Combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, wine, vinegar, basil, parsley, salt, sugar and tomato paste in a very large non-reactive pan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until mixture reaches desired consistency, stirring frequently. Remove hot jars from canner and ladle sauce into jars to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of rim (head space). Process 35 minutes for pin (500 mL) jars and 40 minutes for quart (1 L) jars in a BWB. Description: "from Ellie Topp's "Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving" Yield: "8 cups" Multi-Use Tomato Sauce Recipe By : Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Canning & Preserving Dressings, Marinades, Sauces Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 10 plum tomatoes -- (about 2 1/2 lbs./1 kg) 10 large tomatoes -- peeled and chopped (about 4 lbs./2 kg) 4 large garlic cloves -- minced 2 large stalks celery -- chopped 2 medium carrots -- chopped 1 large onion -- chopped 1 large zucchini -- chopped 1 large sweet green pepper -- chopped 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes -- (125 mL) 2/3 cup dry red wine -- (150 mL) 1/2 cup red wine vinegar (5% strength or more) -- (125 mL) 2 bay leaves 1 tablespoon pickling salt -- (15 mL) 2 teaspoons dried oregano -- (10 mL) 2 teaspoons dried basil -- (10 mL) 1 teaspoon granulated sugar -- (5 mL) (optional) 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon -- (2 mL) (optional) 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper -- (2 mL) 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley -- (50 mL) Combine tomatoes, celery, garlic, onion, zucchini and green pepper in a very large non-reactive pan. Add 1 cup (250 mL) water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and boil gently, covered, for 25 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken, stirring occasionally. Soak sun-dried tomatoes in boiling water until softened. Drain and dice. Add to sauce with wine, vinegar, bay leaves, salt, oregano, basil, sugar, cinamon and pepper. Continue to boil gently until desired consistency, stirring frequently. Discard bay leaves and stir in parsley. Remove hot jars from canner and ladle sauce into jars to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of rim (head space). Process in a BWB 35 minutes for pint (500 mL) jars and 40 minutes for quart (1 L) jars. Description: "from Ellie Topp's "Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving" Yield: "12 cups" If you're interested in a spaghetti sauce with meat, check the NCHFP link below. It's not entirely true that everything can be pressure-canned. Certainly many foods can be, but as a rule-of-thumb, eggs, dairy, oils, flour or cornstarch-thickened products cannot be processed. There are a very few tested recipes that are exceptions, but when looking for a new recipe that falls into one of these categories be very careful that it does come from a reliable source. Also, again there are density issues which limit what you can. So, for example, one change since your grandmother's time is that pureed squash is no longer canned. Only chunks are recommended because further testing determined there were inconsistencies in water content and pH with home-grown squash and serious heat-penetration problems. So that rule was changed. By the same token, though some of us occasionally use litmus or a pH meter, it isn't an infallible method. If you're talking about a sauce with chunks of things, the problem is that the litmus even of a blended sample does not allow for the fact that a low-acid chunk in a high-acid mixture may provide a safe harbor for botulism. For that reason it can be a mistake to rely on litmus. Carol Here is a link that might be useful: Spaghetti Sauce with Meat

Depends on how you froze it. If you can separate the slices (we freeze ours individually first) then use it frozen. Thawed, it turns quite soft and mushy so is difficult to work with - possible but difficult. If you can't separate them then suggest chopping while still partially frozen and then thaw it. Dave

Clare, I didn't say before, but I'm sorry your celebration wasn't what it should have been. Annie, believe it or not, a restaurateur who has any idea what they are doing would far rather you send something back than walk out dissatisfied. Ticking customers off on a regular basis is death to a restaurant. I cannot tell you how many times over the years I had to drag a criticism out of a customer who was obviously not enjoying their meal because something was not to their taste or poorly prepared. And I worked in a very nice restaurant! But chefs are people, like anyone else, as are those who write the menus, and yes, the servers, and everyone is subject to error or just a bad day. Clare, some customers will sabotage their own complaint by making it in a rude or aggressive manner, but I just don't believe that was the case with you. I think you got one of those waiters who gets his nose in the air because he's part of the "foodie elite" who know how things "should" be prepared. When I was training staff, that attitude brought tongue lashings from me, I can tell you. If you like your food prepared a certain way, you don't care (nor should you) what some foo-foo trend says about it, and you're the one paying for it anyway! I used to have customers who ordered their prime rib well done and asked for ketchup. That is not the way that I would eat it, but then, I like it mooing at me and many wouldn't eat it like that! Anyhow, I figured that since I have a secret penchant for Chef Boyardee's Beefaroni, I haven't the cheek to criticize the tastes of others! :D

Given increasing and probably irreversible globalization, in ten years it may be hard to have a varied diet if one limits oneself to "grown/processed/packaged in the USA." Look at Walmart: they'd go out of business next week if consumers refused to buy stuff from them of foreign origin. A lot of raw veggies and fruits in my grocery stores, local produce stands, and even "farmers markets" do not indicate country of origin. When they get unboxed and put out for sale, the employees may not even know for sure where some of them originally came from.