FOOD: TOMATO SAUCES

There's nothing like a bowl of pasta with homemade sauce to warm your soul on a cold winter day. But if you don't have time to spend hours stewing tomatoes with chopped onion, ground beef and the requisite bay leaf, there are many tasty alternatives. Try these brands with fresh ingredients:

Muir Glen Organic
ITALIAN HERB PASTA SAUCE
$3.69 for 25.5 oz.
Check muirglen.com for stores
Sweet and summery with delicious bursts of organic fennel, thyme and sea salt. You can almost taste the sunny California weather that produced these ripe tomatoes.

Rao's Homemade
SOUTHERN ITALIAN PEPPER & MUSHROOM SAUCE
$7.99 for 24 oz.
raos.com
Hope to someday get a table at Rao's, the exclusive Neapolitan joint in East Harlem? Fuggedaboutit. Instead, treat yourself to Rao's authentic, silky texture and home-style garden flavors.

Bella Cucina Artful Food
FARMHOUSE SUGO
$18 for 24 oz.
bellacucina.com
Aficionados of puttanesca will appreciate this lively and chunky sun-dried tomato and caper sauce. If the price tag doesn't ruin your appetite, mix it into pasta or use as a bruschetta topping.

Dell'Amore
PREMIUM MARINARA SAUCE
$5.99 for 25.5 oz.
At Safeway and Byerly's. Also check dellamore.com.
The recipe for this hearty blend of vine-ripened tomatoes and garlic comes from Frank Dell'Amore's grandmother Filomena, featured on the label in a 1914 photo she sent to her boyfriend.

Sauces ' n Love Homemade
SUGO ROSA
$5.99 for 16 oz.
saucesnlove.com
This velvety, cream-based sauce is prepared in small batches with fresh, organic herbs that are hand-chopped. In summer, try the cool mint pesto.

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