Making Sauce

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I were wandering around the farmer's market, and happened upon an amazing deal. $20 for a huge case of organic tomatoes, which I think weighed close to 30 pounds. We were so excited to fill our freezer.

We decided to start with tomato puree. Fortunately we had a nifty tomato press/gadget tucked away in the cabinet, because this helped make quick work of removing the skin and seeds. We then froze all of the beautiful puree, and wondered what to do with the huge amount of seeds and skin that were left. Jay had the brilliant idea to run it through the Vitamix, and it worked like a dream! The Vita Mix produced a lovely sauce out of the skins and seeds, which didn't have a trace of bitterness, only a lovely sweet flavor. We dumped the puree into a giant pot, added some seasonings (garlic, oregano, basil, garlic and a touch of agave), and cooked it down for about 4 hours. What was left was some of the best tomato sauce I've ever had. To think that the sauce was made out of throwaway stuff was unbelievable! We then froze all of the tomato sauce in freezer bags and called it a day.

Here's some pics from our adventure:

Some of the seeds and skins, waiting to be pureed.

This is what happens if you don't have your lid on tight. The tomato puree went everywhere!