Tomato Ginger Lemongrass Simmer Sauce

My food processor is full of deliciousness that I want to drink directly from it through a straw. Mmmmm. I am already dreaming about dinner.

This was inspired by one of those jarred simmer sauces that you see occasionally and think, I could make that. You don't think that when you see jars of simmer sauce? I just prefer to make my own everything. The disclaimer with this is that I am no Indian food expert, so while it tastes great to me, there are probably about 5 more spices you could add to improve it. If you know those spices, go ahead and use them and enjoy!

Ingredients:
Large can of stewed tomatoes
Small can of coconut milk
1 tsp oil
1 yellow onion chopped into large cubes
2 carrots chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
3 cloves garlic
about 4 inches of lemongrass finely grated
2 tbsp ginger finely grated
1 bunch of fresh cilantro
4 dates (you may need more depending on the sweetness of your other ingredients and the size of your dates)
1/2 tsp coriander

Over medium high heat, saute the onion, garlic, bell pepper, and onion in the oil until the onions are slightly caramelized. Stir frequently to keep from burning anything. Next, add the grated ginger and lemongrass and toss once or twice. Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, dates, coriander, and cilantro (go ahead and just tear the top off the bunch of cilantro because you are going to blend it all anyway). Let this all simmer together for 10-15 minutes. Carefully pour it into your food processor and blend everything together. After it's blended you can salt or more dates if needed. This can be simmered with tofu, seitan, tempeh, or with cubed zucchini. I'm thinking of making green lentils, then simmering them in the sauce and serving them over brown rice.

Enjoy.

**Edited an hour later: I made the lentils and brown rice and that was the perfect pairing with this sauce! This recipe makes a lot, so I froze two ziplock bags of leftover sauce and used about 1/4 cup.