Thanks for the review on this recipe. I like to hear feedback from people on what is really good, and those not so good, too. Here it is in the high 90's to low 100's. Burning hot. I do not like this !! My pimentos do, though, and so do my tomatoes. Still none ripe,but should be soon. Had to buy a new fridge and new freezer this week ! One expensive week. My freeze has things icy, but not frozen hard. I get the new one tomorrow. The old fridge was freezing my tea, water, and milk. But, it would not make ice in the ice maker. Got disgusted with the problems so went and just spent a ton of money and got them !! Love the new fridge. French doors on top. Really easy to get things in and out of. Just lovely. Ice and water in the door.

A good way to deal with tomatoes is to use the Villaware/Roma food strainer. They offer a 1/4 inch holed salsa screen that can give you minced tomato bits, and there would be no need to worry about skins and most of the seeds, as they are usually seperated and come out the waste end of the conical sieve. With this handd operated machine, you can make large amounts of salsa or sauces in less than 30 minutes. Adding more higher strength vinegar, or bottled lemon or lime juice can also help raise the acidity a bit as can adding citric acid. But as stated its not a safe recipe to can.

If I am making a meat sauce, I start with some pork...like a chop or a small pork steak brown it in a little olive oil a Dutch oven, as its browning I chop a good big onion, or 2 smaller ones and a green pepper, Add the veggies to the pot along with 3 to 5 cloves of garlic, depending on how big the cloves are. When the onion has softened, add: 3 24 oz cans of good whole Italian plum tomatoes and 3 6 oz cans of Contadina tomato paste ( other brands are bitter!) Fill one of the tomato paste cans with a dry red wine and add to the pot, and fill the other 2 cans with water and add that to the pot. Add: A handful of fresh basil....about 1/4 cup chopped, and A handful of flat leaf parsley about 1/4 cup chopped, and 2 T fresh oregano leaves....and Fresh ground pepper, about 3/4 of a teaspoon....about 6 grinds of my Greek mill. And" 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese. For this it really isn't necessary to use the "good stuff" because what you want from the cheese is the buffering the acidity of the tomatoes. Add the good stuff to each plate as you serve it. while the sauce is simmering...VERY slowly... make meatballs to put into it....I bake the meatballs and add them to the sauce pot, and simmer another hour. I also make a simple pomo d'oro sauce using fresh tomatoes. I sautee a big onion and half a green pepper in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, add a couple of cloves of chopped garlic and about 2 quarts of peeled and cut up fresh tomatoes, a small handful of fresh basil and another of chopped parsley.....cook at a fairly fast boil until thick enough for you about 20 minutes. I use a big fry pan for this....salt to taste....it will take a fair amount as you have not used any canned products nor cheese. Linda C

I was always intrigued by vintage cookbooks that used chicken livers in Italian meat sauces. A few years ago, I found another one in the book In Tuscany by France's Mayes, tried it, and really liked it. (Bracketed comments are mine.) FIORELLA'S RAGU DI FUNGHI PORCINI This recipe begins with odori, the earthy mix of root vegetables and parsleythat is at the heart of many Tuscan dishes. Serves 6 to 8 Odori: 1 carrot, minced 1 celery stalk, minced 1 onion, minced A handful of parsley, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 2 Tbs. EV olive oil 2 Italian sausages, casings removed [14 oz.] 3/4 pound ground veal 2 chicken livers, cut in small pieces Salt Pinch of red pepper 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 cup red wine [I used chianti] 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms 1 Tbs. tomato paste 6 to 7 fresh chopped tomatoes or one 28-ounce can tomatoes Sauté the odori ingredients in the olive oil [medium heat] to make the odori. Add the sausage, veal, liver, salt, red pepper and garlic. Sauté until brown, [medium-high heat] stirring often. When the mixture begins to stick to the pan, add the wine and stir [occasionally] until it evaporates. Meanwhile, put the dried mushrooms in hot water for 10 minutes. Remove them from the water [straining and reserving it], chop, and add them to the meat, stirring well. Add the tomato paste and the tomatoes. When the sauce has come to a boil, add the water from the dried mushrooms, well filtered. Simmer slowly for about 40 minutes. Serve with fresh-cooked, al dente tagliatelle or fettuccine. [I used fettuccini but would also be good on mafalda. It's too chunky for thin pasta like spaghetti.] I make different sauces depending on the time of year. In summer, my favorite is based on fresh tomatoes. In winter, I often use creamed vegetable soups with less liquid added as a sauce, especially roasted garlic soup. In springtime, we eat a lot of veal and I often make a sauce based on Veal Marengo.