Hi,
On the marinara, even if you make it totally from scratch; with 'everything' fresh - you'll still probably have to use some kind of sugar as you'll end up adding (and this is canned), tomato paste. Thick and really NOT sweet! lol
Lots of times when I don't feel like getting all the tomatoes and washing, then putting them in the sink, putting boiling water over them, then peeling.......I start out w/a jarred sauce and just add the things we like to it. It still takes a few hours to make, but the other way took me two days. And you can find sauces that aren't too bad (to the point of being safe for diabetics) on the sugar - I add raw sugar instead of the white refined.
Gee, I had a question in here somewhere - do you want to make it totally from the tomatoes up, or would you use (as a starter), things like crushed, stewed, whole roma/plum peeled tomatoes, or even some sauce that's already made (grocery store). I can do the recipe either way - figured I'd ask!
Kat
And we like ours really chunky too - lots and lots of veggies!