One of the things that make gardening so fulfilling is seeing things grow from seed to amazing meals.  The more I grow and see others grow, the more inspired I am to try new things.  And now I have the time to find more ways to leave less of a carbon footprint.

But don’t be fooled… having more time doesn’t mean I want to take more time on individual projects.  I like things simple… which is why it had taken me so long to make my own tomatoes. I had to figure out if it was worth the work and once I did it… the answer was simple

We had an awesome tomato harvest this year, I was picking baskets full daily.  So I thought it was time to take on the experience of making my own tomato sauce and I’ll be honest, I really don’t want to buy pasta sauce from the store anymore because this was too yummy and too simple.

So if you don’t have tomatoes in the garden… no worries, you can still buy tomatoes and make your sauce.  Trust me, you won’t regret it… especially since I have a recipe that uses ingredients most of have at home and it omits the work of taking the skin off of your tomatoes.  The ingredients and steps are below.  I also have a video showing the step-by-step process.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic diced or crushed
• 12-14 tomatoes halved
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup basil leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ cup lemon juice for flavor and canning (optional)

How to Make It:

• Add the tomatoes and balsamic vinegar to a pot and bring it to a boil
• Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 30 min – 1 hour  (Slowly simmering the sauce brings out the deep flavors, so you’ll need less seasonings)
• Add basil when it’s almost done
• Optional – Add lemon juice for flavoring and canning

Don’t be afraid to play with the recipe to fit your meal.  Adding celery and carrots to the sauté mix is yummy.

I’ll admit, I like it best fresh from the pot to the plate.  I honestly could have eaten it alone… actually I did have a few spoonfuls because it was so delicious.

I also tried it over noodles with other vegetables and absolutely loved it.

I tried it in spinach lasagna and thought the vinegar was a little strong for it.

Please let me know if you try the recipe.  Take pictures and let me know if you made alterations that made it even more amazing!