Sauce: Sweat the onion, celery and carrot in the olive oil over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent. Add the garlic, oregano, tomato paste and brown sugar. Increase the heat to medium high and cook until everything starts to sizzle. Add the tomatoes and their juice, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the sauce is heated through. Place the sauce in a properly vented blender and purée it with the basil leaves. Season to taste (if the sauce is a little too acidic, add a touch more brown sugar). Return pureed sauce to the stove.

Meatballs: Preheat oven to 350F. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion and garlic, until the onion is translucent and the garlic just starts to turn a light beige. Add the chili flakes, parsley, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and add to a mixing bowl with the ground beef. Mix everything else in (if it feels a little too wet, add some more crumbs to make it hold appropriately) and form the meatballs about 1 1/2" in diameter. Bake for about 20 minutes (or until meatballs reach an internal temperature of 155F). Remove from oven and add meatballs to the tomato sauce on the stove, to finish cooking the meatballs (internal temperature of meatballs should reach 165F). Serve meatballs and sauce over cooked spaghetti noodles. Yield: 4-6 servings.