Fresh Tomato Sauce

Between our tomatoes, those from the CSA and those from my parents, we have been living in red (and yellow)! I made a batch of fresh tomato sauce this week, and it's heavenly. I think I could eat this every day! Here's the finished product, after it's cooked down.

And here's the super-simple recipe. It's not exact. Into a big pot, add:

-A bunch of diced tomatoes, about 4 qt (I think)

• Ignore most tomato sauce recipes to the contrary and KEEP the skins! Removing the skins is a waste of time, color and nutrition. As you can see in the photo above, the sauce turns out great with the skins! Some skins stay intact; others slide off and form these lovely little red twists that add visual and textural interest. KEEP the skins!
• Also ignore the advice to remove all the seeds and liquid from the tomatoes. I came up with a way to remove some of the seeds and liquid, and I did this to about half the tomatoes. (The rest went into the pot with seeds and liquid.) Core the tomato and hold it in your palm, cut side down. Hold it over a bowl and squeeze. Lots of liquid and seeds come out. Then you can dice it and throw into the pot.

- Several cloves of garlic, minced

- Chopped onions, as much as you want; I was actually out of onion so I used chopped greens of fall-blooming prairie onions in our garden

- A handful of fresh oregano and fresh marjoram (dried is OK too)

- Some red wine (about 1/2 a cup?)

- Dash of red pepper flakes, to taste

- Salt (go easy) and pepper, to taste

Simmer over medium heat until it reaches the desired consistency.

Mine simmered about 2.5 hours. You can even skim off some of the liquid to use as a soup base. This freezes well, too - tho I didn't have much left to freeze!

What I love about this recipe is that it's not too salty, nor is it too sweet. Most commercial varieties, to me, fall into one camp or the other.