Problem:  I have a bunch of garden fresh tomatoes

Solution Difficulty:  Easy

When most people hear someone say "from the scratch" the first thing they think of is food. We are no different and it's with great pleasure that I share the following article with our visitors. Several years ago it occurred to us that tomato sauce, though useful in many dishes, is also fairly expensive. After doing the math and several taste tests we determined that typically most of what you pay for is the packaging and branding, not the actual ingredients. So we set out on a journey to learn to make sauce the old fashioned way. Since none of us have any Italian grandmas we instead drew upon the collective knowledge of several cookbooks, our own taste buds, and a few Olive Garden commercials. The following is by no means the only way to make sauce, and we are by no means an authority on the subject. Hopefully this article will give you a few starting points so you can begin on your own "journey" of making the sauce.

The most important ingredient in tomato sauce is tomatoes. Though it may seem obvious, the importance of this ingredient can not be overstated. While you may be able to survive with dried herbs instead of fresh, the quality of your tomatoes will largely determine the palatability of your sauce. This being the case you have two options.

First if you know someone who has, or has access to a large number of fresh tomatoes this is the way to go. He who grows tomatoes soon grows tired of eating tomatoes. If your friend isn't inclined to making sauce this often means an abundance of leftovers. Offer to take as many as you can, and then sort them my degree of ripeness. Younger tomatoes will be very firm and often a bit green. As they ripen the skin will turn a darker shade of red and may become soft. If your fruit is still green you'll want to allow it to sit in a sunny, but not too hot, location and until it ripens. The best tomatoes are vine ripened, however they will continue to ripen once they are picked as long as they aren't refrigerated. Once they are sufficiently ripe you can put them in the fridge, which will stop the ripening process.

If you don't know anyone who grows tomatoes or you live in the city and can't obtain a large quantity of your own, the best bet is to use canned tomatoes. Believe it or not some brands aren't that bad, but you'll need to taste them to be sure. You'll need a large quantity, so head for the local Sams Club or Costco and pick up several large cans.

The next step is to prepare the tomatoes. If your using canned you can skip ahead a bit, because the hard work has been done for you. I start by cutting a small "X" across the top of the tomato, and then remove the stem. I do this first because if the tomato gets too hot it will become mushy and next to impossible to work with. Next heat water in the large pot until it's boiling. Drop your tomatoes into the pot and blanch them for 30 seconds or until the peels begin to become loose. Don't leave the tomatoes in the pot over a minute because they will be too hot to work with. Then dump the contents through a colander and then transfer them to a bowl of cold water. The skin of the tomato should become loose and peel away easily.

Next cut the tomatoes in half and remove the seeds. According to some, the seeds can lend a bitter taste to the sauce if they aren't removed. Large, juicy tomatoes such as Beefsteak and Big Boy contain a lot of seeds and can be hard to work with. Don't worry if you can't clean out all of the seeds. Next, dice the tomatoes into smaller pieces. The smaller chunks of tomato will cook faster and will be easier to grind up later. Toss your cut tomatoes in a large bowl.

Next you'll need to chop your onions, peppers and prep your garlic. Pour about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the bottom of the large pot. Drop in the onions, peppers and garlic and sauté the contents for 5-7 minutes on medium-high heat. Then transfer the processed tomatoes either from the bowl or can into the large pot.

Now you need to add your other herbs and spices. There should be plenty of tomato juice, so there is no need to add water. Add 2 chicken bullion cubes, thyme, basil, red pepper, oregano, salt and pepper, vinegar, and a bay leaf. Then bring the contents to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. The contents will need to cook AT LEAST 30 minutes, but never more than 2 hours. Prolonged cooking will cause the sauce to become more acidic which may not agree with some stomachs. If you desire sauce that is thicker, drain some of the juice off before cooking.

Once your pot has stewed sufficiently, remove the bay leaf and you're read to puree the contents of the pot. The best device to use is a hand held mixing wand which you can pick up for cheap. Remember to keep the wand FIRMLY against the bottom of the pot. Otherwise you'll sling tomato sauce all over your kitchen. Allow the contents to cool and then you'll be ready to dish out your sauce.

There are probably several ways to store tomato sauce, but the one we use is to separate the sauce out into small freezer safe containers. In this case we used zip lock storage containers which stack nicely. To use the sauce simply drop the container in some warm water and allow it to thaw.

So it's that simple to make your own tomato sauce. As I said earlier, the fresher the ingredients the better the sauce. Even if you use canned tomatoes and dried herbs chances are your sauce will still taste as good as the average store bought brand. In an hour or so you can have your own sauce made from the scratch.

Recipe

• 6 1/2 pounds of fresh / canned tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cup onions chopped
• 1 1/2 cup bell pepper chopped
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tbl Olive Oil
• 2 chicken bullion cubes
• 1 tbl thyme
• 1/4 cup crushed fresh basil or 1 tbl preprocessed
• 1/2 tsp red pepper
• 1 tbl Oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbl white vinegar
• 1 bay leaf

This article contributed by ERSWeb
Read more by this author at http://ElectronicRealitySolutions.com