Recipe(tried): Nana's Marinara Sauce

Hi Gina, I'm happy to oblige you with my grandmother's sauce recipe. Since she stopped cooking about 5 years ago, it was up to my mom and me to keep making her sauce. Substitute 5 lbs. of fresh tomatoes for the puree and crushed tomatoes below, but add the tomato paste (it makes the sauce richer). If you'd like to add meatballs or sausage to the sauce, do so about 1 to 2 hours into the cooking time. To peel tomatoes, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Using a long meatfork, plunge each tomato into the boiling water and hold for about 20 seconds (the skin will split), then into ice water for another 20 seconds. The skin should come right off. Chop or puree the tomatoes before adding them to the pot (it depends upon how chunky you like your sauce). Let me know what you think!
MARINARA SAUCE
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1, 30 ounce can crushed plum tomatoes in puree
1, 30 ounce can tomato puree
2, 6 ounce cans tomato paste
2 cups water
2 tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped - or 2 teaspoons dried
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, finely chopped - or teaspoon dried
2 whole carrots, peeled
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
teaspoon pepper
Cooked or semi-cooked sausage, meatballs and or bracciole
Optional: cup red wine

1 Dutch oven

1 pound pasta such as rigatoni, penne rigate or conchiglia rigate
freshly grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese
ricotta cheese

In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until it begins to soften. Lower heat, add the garlic and saute about 5 minutes more.
Add the crushed and pureed tomatoes and bring to a boil.
Mix the tomato paste with the water and stir the mixture into the sauce. Add the basil, oregano, carrots and bay leaves .
Reduce heat until sauce is at a very low simmer and add meat, if using.
Cover and simmer over very low heat until the sauce is thick, about 2 hours. Stir occasionally.
Taste to adjust seasonings and remove the carrot and bay leaf.
At this point, if you'd like a smoother sauce, remove meat and put it aside to keep warm. Puree the sauce in a blender or use a hand blender directly in the cooking pot.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
Drain well and return the pasta to the cooking pot. Add a ladle of the sauce and toss to mix it through.
Serve the pasta in warmed bowls topped with hot sauce, freshly grated Italian cheese and a spoonful of ricotta.
Serve any meat which you've cooked in the sauce as a second course with tomato sauce, and a salad and/or vegetable.