Once again - Tomato Sauce

It's been awhile since I last mentioned making spaghetti sauce and since I had enough tomatoes on the counter to make one batch, I thought I would show you how I do it. Starting with a pan filled with halved or quartered tomatoes. That yellow stuff? Trader Joe's Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Then I threw on some Rosemary and Thyme from the garden. Throw on some kosher salt. Then I set the oven to 400 and kept them at that temp for about 5 minutes. Then I lowered it to 250 for the next hour. Why? Just because. Roasting tomatoes is visual thing. And visceral. Go with your 'gut' feeling.

I had to dust off and wash the food mill and then I was ready. In the meantime the tomatoes are roasting.



Out of the oven and ready to run through the food mill.

I keep emptying the mill of the peelings etc and saving them in the yellow strainer. For later. I don't want to miss any of this juice.

I use a measuring cup to press the last of the juice out of the pulp. Oh, yes...don't forget to drain the olive oil out of the roasting pan. It has tomato juices and herb flavoring now and needs to go into the pot.

Now add as much seasoning as you like. I added about a tablespoon of Italian Seasoning and a teaspoon of crushed garlic. It looks like I have about 1 -1/2 inches of sauce in the pan.

Now I simmer the whole thing for about an hour. Don't need to if you don't want to. You will be simmering it later when you make your spaghetti sauce. I like to do it because I think it gives the spices a boost.

Once it's done, put it into the freezer. And when December comes around and you crave some comfort food, take it out and make any kind of tomato based sauce. You will be amazed at the flavor. So sweet!

If you don't have a garden, go to the local farmer's market and buy some ordinary tomatoes. They won't be ordinary for long!