Awesome Sauce 🍅

One of the greatest things about gardening is that there are so many wonderful things you can create and there is no reason to waste a thing. Turn stock piles of extra tomatoes into a sauce or relish. Everything can be salvaged even the "drops", those with bruises or with brown spots are still great in a sauce. Even at the farmers market, for a much lower price, you can buy bushels of imperfect tomatoes for sauce. I don't get much into canning, however that's an excellent option. I simply sterilize my mason jars in the dish washer and add the sauce while it's still hot to the top of the jar and seal. The heat creates a vacuum packed seal and it keeps in your fridge for at least a month. Pick the reddest and rippest of tomatoes for your sauce, I even use my cherry tomatoes. You can also use colored heirlooms and mix. I add my sauce to many dishes like, chili, chicken marinara, huevos ranchero, and pour over minced meat for a tender bolanese.

What you'll need:

A bushel of tomatoes (about 10) cut up into into small pieces.🍅

Bundle of Basil 🌿 chopped

1 large onion diced

3-4 cloves of garlic minced

1-2 8 oz cans of Tomato paste

1 cup of grated imported Romano cheese (extra for topping)

Olive oil

Salt

In a large sauce pot cover the bottom with olive oil on a medium high heat. Add chopped onion and garlic and sauté until golden brown then add tomatoes cut up and chopped basil. Cook down for about 29 minute constantly stirring. Add your cheese and simmer for about 15 minutes. With a potato masher mash your sauce up to help break down the tomatoes. Add one can or tomato paste and stir. If you desire a thicker sauce, add another 1/2 to 1 can of paste and stir. Add salt to taste, about 2 tablespoons. Let summer for about 10 more minutes and then spoon into mason jars to the very top and seal. I do this in the sink with a towel. Let stand on the counter until cool and refrigerate. Also a good time to serve it over pasta of your choice and top with extra grated cheese! Awesome!