Saucey!

With the temperatures rising, people will soon be lighting up the BBQs to get their cook on! While I don't have a BBQ, nor do I even like BBQ'd foods (more on that later), I still crave the sweet-spicey-sour taste of BBQ sauce every now and then. This sauce takes more time than buying it at the store, but by making it at home you claim bragging rights and you won't be eating any high-fructose corn syrup or other nasty preservatives.

Homemade BBQ Sauce

1 1/4 cups plain* tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes
2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon or yellow mustard
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon hot sauce (or to taste)
1 red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Saute onion and garlic in the vegetable oil. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir consistently until the sauce bubbles and starts to thicken. Blend the sauce to make it smooth, or serve it a bit chunky if you'd like. Cool any remaining sauce and store it in the fridge for likely one week. *You don't want any oregano or basil or other herbs to change the BBQ sauce-taste. Just plain tomatoes are best. Recipe inspired by this one.

I served the sauce over chickpeas and a side of baked sweet potato fries (pictured above are the BBQ chickpeas, fries, and the remaining sauce).