You like tomato and I like tomahto.

Look at those tomatoes. Aren't they gorgeous? Those are the ones pulled from my garden just this morning! (I got up at 8AM so I could get myself moving before I sat down to write for the day.)

Two full baskets of tomatoes makes ten quarts of spaghetti sauce...and I did promise recipes! This is totally scalable, so no quantities are going to be listed. Just eyeball it to your taste, appetite and storage space.

Pan-roasted Tomato Sauce

Start with a large pan - I use a big roasting pan because I cook this stuff in large quantities. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (F) and get to work with:

-- Tomatoes
-- Salt
-- Pepper
-- Olive oil
-- Fresh garlic

Optional things:

-- Chopped onions
-- Chopped peppers
-- Chopped mushrooms

Herbs:

-- Fresh basil
-- Fresh oregano
-- Fresh fennel

Cut your tomatoes into quarters and lay them out in the bottom of your pan. Toss in several cloves of fresh garlic, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil. Pop the pan into the oven to roast for about an hour. The idea is to get some of the moisture out of the tomatoes before cooking them down for sauce.

While the tomatoes are roasting, heat some olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Toss in chopped onions, cook til slightly soft. Add chopped peppers, cook til slightly soft, then add your 'shrooms. Or skip any or all of these, if all you want is tomatoey goodness.

Turn everything off. Pull the tomatoes and let them cool for about ten minutes, then puree them and pour them into your favorite sauce pot. Bring to slow simmer, then add the chopped veggies you've chosen for the sauce. Continue simmering until slightly thickened, then add chopped fresh herbs of your choice.

Continue simmering until the sauce has reached desired thickness - I like mine medium thick - remove from heat and either serve over pasta or chicken, or can it.

Have fun, and save me some!