Winter project: canning spaghetti sauce

Pretty much every family has its recipes, the ones passed down through the generations, modified by each cook, and treasured (or occasionally dreaded) by each new generation of kids. In my family there are only two of these, and both began, as far as I know, with my mother. One of them is the family spaghetti sauce recipe.

I learned to cook by helping my mother in the kitchen, starting when I was maybe 4 or 5. I liked cooking project days, when I would get in the way help Mom assemble whatever vat o' goodness she was making that day. I was always especially happy when it was spaghetti sauce day, because (like pretty much every American kid), I loved spaghetti. I especially loved the mushrooms in the sauce, so my dad would pick the mushrooms out of his portion and give them to me.

Once I was on my own, I asked my mother for her spaghetti sauce recipe. Of course she didn't have one--she just made it from memory, with a pinch of this and a glop of that, and it turned out magical. I made it with her one afternoon, and she tried to identify actual quantities, but of course the results were never quite the same as when she made it. So I fiddled with it over the years until it became my spaghetti sauce.

The recipe below makes about 7 quarts, which happens to be exactly what my pressure canner will hold (this is not a coincidence). You can make smaller or larger amounts as you wish and freeze it instead of can it if you prefer. Quantities of stuff are also negotiable. If you hate mushrooms, you're wrong you can leave those out. Whatever. It's spaghetti sauce, not a chemistry experiment. There are, however, a few caveats if you're going to can the stuff:

• You *must* use a pressure canner. This stuff has meat in it along with low-acid vegetables. It's a breeding ground for botulism. Do not try to can anything with meat or low-acid anything in a boiling-water canner. If you want to can spaghetti sauce in a boiling water bath, follow a meatless recipe designed for boiling-water-bath canning such as this one from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

• This recipe is not an "official" "approved" home canning recipe. Normally that's a big no-no. I get around it by following the processing directions for the ingredient with the longest recommended processing time--the ground beef. You can find pressure canning recipes for meat sauce with shorter processing times, but since mine hasn't been laboratory-tested, I play it safe. My new year's resolution every year is to not give my family botulism. So far I have a 100% success rate with that one (we won't discuss my success rate with other resolutions). If you have any concerns about canning, just freeze it. I do that frequently when I'm too lazy to hassle with canning, and it works just fine.

OK, here we go:

The recipe

3 large onions, chopped

3 medium bell peppers, chopped

3 or so jalapenos or other chilies, minced (optional - add if you like a little heat with your spaghetti)

6-8 cloves of garlic, minced (or to taste)

About 90 oz tomatoes, fresh or canned. If using fresh, peel, core, and roughly chop them.

48 oz. tomato sauce

18 oz. tomato paste

3 heaping tbsp dried basil (or to taste - I often add more)

2 heaping tbsp dried oregano (or to taste - again, I often add more. I have a heavy hand with herbs.)

About 4 tsp salt or to taste

1 tsp pepper or to taste

24 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms (or more or less or none - whatever you like)

3 lbs. ground beef, browned and drained

Toss all of the above into a big (and I do mean *big*) stockpot and simmer for a few hours. Or do what I do: put it in a couple of slow cookers (I use one huge one and one smaller one; it fills both) and cook it on low for about 8-10 hours. I like to start the slow cookers at bedtime, let them cook all night, and can the sauce in the morning.

To can, follow the directions for pressure canning that came with your canner, adjusting for altitude if needed. As noted above, I use the processing time and pressure instructions for canning ground beef to be sure my sauce isn't under-processed. Makes about 7 quarts.