Tomatoes, Tomatoes and more tomatoes!!!

The Tomato. Is there any other fruit or vegetable that says summer any more than the tomato? Not in my family. Red or yellow? Matters not to me. As long as they are ripe, juicy and ready to eat!

We make salsa, pasta sauce, fried green tomatoes (I like them mixed with the other seasonal favorite okra!) and sliced on a plate or in a bowl with plenty of salt! I have been known to eat so many that the acid in the tomatoes would cause considerable pain, so moderation is always recommended. I do love them so!!!

This  year we planted 6 heirloom plants and had at least 6 cherry plants come up voluntarily. Needless to say, there has been an abundance of luscious, juicy tomatoes this year. The weather in Arkansas has certainly cooperated. There was rain every few days early in the season and it still hasn't gotten to be unbearably hot. We have 6 foot tall plants that are still lush and loaded with tomatoes! I finally have been able to eat all I wanted and still have plenty to put away for winter.

There has been many a tomato peeled and diced into a quart freezer bag for soup or chili. I have canned crushed tomatoes, my first ever and I'm very pleased with the outcome! Last week my husband says, "Why don't you can spaghetti sauce? Then all we have to do is heat and eat." I had certainly considered canning sauce so why not. It would make things easy on a busy night. So today, I canned spaghetti sauce.

As I sit here typing up this post, the lids are popping. That is the most satisfying sound when you know all your hard work will pay off in the cold winter months. How did I make this sauce? Read on my friends!

Easy Pasta Sauce

7 quarts diced tomatoes ( I think I probably had 2 large plastic grocery bags of tomatoes when I started)
2 - 6 ounce cans tomato paste (for thickening)
2 medium sized white or yellow onions, small dice
2 large cloves garlic, minced fine
2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 pinch red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil

Peel and dice fresh tomatoes into a large stock pot. Mine is a 12 quart and it was approximately 3/4 of the way full. Place over medium high heat.
Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. When onions are translucent, add to tomatoes along with salt, seasoning and pepper flakes.
Bring to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes. Taste! You can always adjust the seasoning.
If you are canning, follow the instructions that come with your canner. Mine holds 7 quarts so my tomatoes process for 20 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.
If you are going to freeze your sauce, allow it to cool and package in your preferred containers leaving about 1 inch of room at the top for expansion.

You could also make a meat sauce if you are freezing the sauce. That recipe is on another post.

Make the most of your summer harvest and enjoy the fruits of your labor during the cold winter months! You'll be glad you did in January when you pop open a jar and it taste like summer!

As we are all gluten free here, I want to share with you my favorite gluten free pasta! We have found that we prefer a corn pasta over any other. That said, I have been concerned about GMO's. I know that corn is the oldest plant that was modified and don't really want to feed that to my family. So after reading all the labels and many articles on GMO's recently; I have found that Sam Mills Pasta D'Oro is NON-GMO! I am so excited! I have been buying this brand at my local Kroger but there isn't a great selection so off to Amazon I went. Not only does Amazon have a great selection but since you buy by the case, it cost less.

I highly recommend Sam Mill Pasta D'Oro! Make sure you salt your water well when you cook it and you'll totally think you're cheating!!!

Enjoy!