Grandma's tomato sauce

The garden is overflowing with ripe tomatoes. We have 30 shady ladies this year. So excited. The cherry tomatoes are great in salad, and the brandywine haven't produced yet. But every day I wake to 10-20 ripe and beautiful shady ladie tomatoes just waiting to be brought in. They are so tasty this year! So, you can only eat so many bologna and tomato or BLT's a day right?!? What do you do with 15 tomatoes a day? You freeze some, you stew and can some, and then you make tomato sauce. This is not your ordinary sauce. This is my husband's grandmother's tomato sauce straight from Italy. This is not a quick fix. This is not a short project. This is an all day experience. There is nothing like this sauce.

I was super busy Thursday through Monday, so everything got behind, including eating tomatoes and giving them out to neighbors and church family. There are a little over 50 tomatoes here. It would be easier to can more, so we don't make this mess over and over, but the more you make it in bulk, the less perfectly delicious it is! So this is an ideal amount for making sauce. With a pairing knife, score an "X" at the bottom of each tomato. Try not to cut into the meat of the tomato itself. You just want to score the skin. Its gonna cut the flesh, but don't try to cut more than the skin.

Have a big pot of water at a rolling boil, and a sink full of ice water ready.

Grab a slotted spoon, and after you drop the tomatoes into the water, count to 50. That's it. Using the slotted spoon, get the tomatoes out of the blanching water, and into the ice bath.

I do small groups of about 6-8 tomatoes at a time. That way, I can drop them in the boiling water, turn and peel the tomatoes in the ice bath, and then remove the next batch from blanching. It is the easiest and fastest process I can come up with.

When you pick a tomato out of the ice bath, the skin will literally just slip off like a gym sock. Slide your hand over it from the bottom to the stem part and then I use my thumb nail to dig a little bit to remove the stem and the "core top".

After the tomatoes are peeled, I use a food possessor and blast them down to juice, pulp, and seeds. Again, I do about 8 tomatoes at a time.

The tomatoes will look pink, but that's just because you've added so much air to the mix. As the little bubbles pop the color will come back to a rich red.

The next place the tomatoes are headed to is the stock pot. We've rid them of their skin, now it's time to rid them of the seeds. Place a mesh strainer on the pot. I use a ladle to push the bulk through. Make sure all the seeds are in the strainer and not in your sauce.

I always have bits of tomato left in the strainer too, so I set the tomato chunks along with the seeds aside. When I've finished possessing and straining all the tomatoes, I run what I've collected through the food processor one more time.

This last batch is now just juice and seeds. I push it through the mesh strainer one more time. All I have left in the strainer is the seeds of 50 tomatoes!

You need 2 carrots, 2-3 large yellow onions, 3-4 bell peppers, and a large head of garlic, minced. If your herb garden is ready you can grab a few sprigs of oregano. cut into manageable chunks so you can chop away.

Even though this cooks down for hours, no one likes chunks in their sauce. Chop and chop until the hard veggies are super fine.

Saute' the veggies in a Tbs of butter and 4 Tbs of olive oil until they are soft. Add to the stock pot of processed tomatoes. Use this time to add a stick of butter and 1/4 cup of olive oil to the mix.

Throw in the oregano. Just leave it whole and on the stem. I forgot to take a picture, but I also added about 1 cup of finely chopped fresh basil. Add between 6-10 bay leaves now too, it all depends on the size of the leaves. I always throw in 2 or 3 celery stalks, whole, to steep in the sauce and add that great celery flavor. You need to do your first salt and peppering now. Just taste the sauce, and add a bit less than you'd think. You can always add salt later, but you can not take it out! Add 2 Tbs Italian seasonings, and stir.

The richness of this sauce comes from simmering 12-24 hours, and from the full bodied red wine added. Today it was about 1 1/2 cups Cabernet Sauvignon. And a glass for the cook in the kitchen. Oh, that's me...thank you very much!

When the sauce has reduced by about a third, its ready. This batch took just under 16 hours. Taste your sauce again, and see if it needs more salt or pepper. It's all about your taste. Remember this is tomato sauce, so when you use it in recipes, you'll be adding salt and pepper to the meal your making using tomato sauce. Remove the oregano stems and the bay leaves. Let the sauce rest and cool to a manageable temperature. While it's cooling, prep jars and utensils for canning. It took a while, but believe me it is worth it. This sauce changes everything you use it in. If you've got an abundance of tomatoes, there is no better way to use them, and it is simple to put up, and stores beautifully. I'll be back soon, to can the sauce. I have a client at work today, so it's chore time at the Fried Okie's suburban homestead! Time to get myself and the kids going. Have a super blessed day. My love and ((((hugs)))to y'all, and happy sauce simmering!