Homemade Tomato Sauce~fresh from the garden
Homemade Tomato Sauce
For many years I would use canned tomatoes to make homemade tomato sauce. I am particular to my sauces because I like it runny and very tomato tasting. So many sauces have oregano…I hate oregano. Why add sugar to sauce? Many say you need it to cut the acid but I love that taste. That true tomato taste is so delicious.
A couple years ago we decided to get a stand up garden for our backyard. My family loves to use this garden to grow and harvest veggies. It’s perfectly manageable. I wanted the gardening to be fun not stressful! In years past we have grown cucumbers, peppers, ground cherries, green beans, but always tomatoes. This year I decided to just do tomatoes. We grow cherry tomatoes for eating and then other types of tomatoes for me to make sauce. San Marzano are my very favorite!
A couple years ago I got a Pampered Chef blender and it’s fabulous. It cooks and blends frozen. Now I’m not a Pampered Chef distributor so I wanted to find a similar one to share with you all. If you don’t have one I highly recommend it. The VitaMix is a similar blender! (I put a Bed Bath & Beyond so you can use a 20% off coupon)
How to Peel the Tomatoes
The process of taking the skin and the seeds out of the tomatoes is quite easy. I clean the tomatoes and boil water. While the water is boiling I make an ice bath. You know a whole bunch of ice in a large bowl and then fill with water.
Before putting the tomatoes in the boiling water pull the stem off and cut a slit in the skin. Place several tomatoes into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Then put into the ice bath for several minutes. You will see the skins coming off.
Seeding the tomatoes is easy too. I just scrap the seeds out with my fingers.
Mixing the Sauce
I just put all the ingredients and put on the cook setting and cook away. You guys that’s it!!!
Jarring the Sauce
I don’t can I jar the sauce and then I freeze it! I use quart jars to store my sauce. I do not go through the process of canning. I just freeze my sauce. I mean I just don’t have the time or the patience of canning. So I put my sauce in a quart jar, I use a canning funnel so I don’t make a mess. (By the way I do the same thing when I make soup. I always make extra and freeze it in jars) Make sure to leave the sauce on the counter and get to room temp. Then I refrigerate overnight, then I put in the freezer. I may have made the mistake of putting warm soup in the freezer and guess what…the glass broke ugh. Don’t do what I did.
The satisfaction of making homemade tomato sauce is beyond wonderful. I love the process of planting, nourishing, harvesting, and cooking. It is a complete circle. This recipe is a little bit of a labor of love but it’s not so intense it’s not worth doing. Homemade Tomato Sauce fresh from the garden is healthy and delicious. You will wow your family and friends…if you’re willing to share. One variation to the homemade tomato sauce recipe is to use your homemade pesto sauce instead of fresh basil. It add a nutty flavor that is so nice on the palette.
