Fresh Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce

This recipe in not the traditional way to make pasta sauce using fresh tomatoes. I take the easy and fast route. I just don't have time to remove the skins and seeds from 20 pounds of tomatoes each time I make sauce! Place fresh tomatoes in a blender and blend the seeds, skin, and all. Plus, this way we use the *whole food* -- the whole tomato. Once you begin to make your own you'll never want to go back to store-bought pasta sauce!

I have been buying cases of fresh, organic tomatoes from Smallwood Farms in Eastern Washington. If you grown your own tomatoes, this recipe is a great way to make use of them. The sauce can be canned in mason jars or stored in your freezer for later use. The other day I asked Facebook fans what everyone was doing with the tomato harvest this season. There are so many great comments. Be sure to head over there and check them out if you need more ideas!

Salmon Puttanesca

Today I am sharing my mother's Puttanesca sauce recipe. Nearly every Christmas Eve that I can remember, she makes this sauce to serve over pasta. Can you imagine what it would be like to not be able to feed your family this Christmas? I can't. This is why I am excited to tell you that I am one of over 60 food bloggers participating in a campaign to increase awareness of childhood hunger this holiday season.

Share Our Holiday Table is a virtual, seven day progressive dinner to help raise funds for children in need. Did you know that nearly 17 million children, or one in four, live in homes without sufficient food. As a mother of four, I want to make sure that my children are well-fed daily with healthy, nourishing foods and I know that I am not alone. All parents want this for their children.

Children need proper nutrition for their immune systems to function well, for proper brain development and growth, to be able to pay attention and learn in school, and to be able to run, skip, hop, and jump all day long!

Now we all have a chance to help nourish a child in need. Donate today. Even five dollars if that's all you can do. Every little bit helps.