Garden Fresh Tomato Sauce

For me, there are few things more enjoyable than a simple bowl of pasta topped with the most delicious sauce made from ripe, fresh garden tomatoes. You can use just about any kind of tomatoes that are sweet and ripe, but I prefer Roma tomatoes because they contain a lot of tomato pulp and very little liquid. No need to peel or de-seed the tomatoes before cooking - a food mill will make quick work of that after cooking, and it’s so much fun to use!

Roma tomatoes are also called Italian plum tomatoes, sauce tomatoes, or paste tomatoes. As I said before, they contain a lot of tomato pulp and little liquid, making them a fantastic option for tomato sauce. The ones I most often find at grocery stores are oval-shaped, but farmer’s markets frequently have pear-shaped beauties. Either way, you can’t go wrong.

Roughly chop the tomatoes (no need to peel) and cook them with the ingredients listed in the recipe below, stirring frequently, until soft and mushy (7-10 minutes).

Once the tomatoes are cooked, allow them to cool and then process them through a food mill to remove all the tough bits of skin. This is a step my kiddos used to love helping with. Throw those skins in the compost bin when you’re done.

I like my fresh garden tomato sauce to be on the thinner side, but you can certainly reduce the sauce on the stovetop to reach whatever consistency you desire.

The recipe written below will result in 3 to 3 1/2 cups of sauce. I like to store it in a glass jar in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze it for longer storage.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• food mill https://amzn.to/33iBQYG

• garlic press https://amzn.to/3tkedtq

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Garden Fresh Tomato Sauce

makes approximately 3 1/2 cups

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds ripe Italian Roma (plum) tomatoes, roughly chopped

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• splash of red wine (or red wine vinegar)

• optional: sprig of fresh basil

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook chopped tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and red wine (or vinegar), stirring frequently, until tomatoes soften completely and you can mush them with a wooden spoon (7-10 minutes).

2. Turn off heat and stir in optional basil sprig; allow tomatoes to cool enough so that they’re easy to handle (20-30 minutes).

3. Remove basil sprig and process tomatoes in a food mill to remove all the skins.

4. If your sauce is too thin, you can reduce it over medium heat until it reaches the consistency you like, otherwise, transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to a week (or freeze for longer storage).

Notes

• For a little extra luxury, stir 1 tablespoon butter into hot sauce before serving.

• To freeze in glass jar, be sure to use a wide-mouth jar and leave 1 inch of headspace before freezing. Plastic freezer bags are also suitable - freeze them flat so the sauce will thaw quickly when needed.

Pickled Green Beans

If you garden or shop your local farmer’s market, you probably have a lot of fresh green beans available this summer. We love to eat them fresh, or cook them a number of different ways - Sautéed with Garlicky Mushrooms, Southern-Style, and Asian-Inspired are some of our favorite recipe. Today I’m going to show you how to make delicious refrigerator pickled green beans. No special equipments or canning technique needed to make this simple recipe. Let me show you!

I like to start by trimming the stem end off of washed green beans. You don’t have to trim the stem ends, but I find they are not very palatable so away they go.

Place the trimmed green beans in a clean jar - any jar with a lid will do (for the recipe below, use a pint-size jar). Add the garlic, bay, coriander seeds, crushed red pepper flakes, and whole pepper corns to the jar as well.

Next, bring the pickling liquid (below) to a boil for 2 full minutes, then pour over the green beans, cover the jar, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate for at least 2 days before enjoying. These green bean pickles will last in the fridge for up to 6 months. Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• the knife shown https://amzn.to/3ggwKRx

• quart jars https://amzn.to/310kcHJ

• coriander seeds https://amzn.to/2Dh7f3V

• whole peppercorns https://amzn.to/2XauZO9

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Easy Pickled Green Beans

makes 1 pint

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 ounces fresh green beans, washed and trimmed to fit in jar

• 1 clove garlic, peeled and cut into 4 wedges

• 1 dried bay leaf

• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 8 whole black peppercorns

Pickling Liquid:

• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

• 1/2 cup white wine

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon fine salt

Directions

• In a pint-size jar, place the trimmed green beans, garlic, bay leaf, coriander seeds, crushed red pepper flakes, and whole pepper corns.

• In a small, non-reactive saucepan, heat the vinegar, water, wine, sugar, and salt until it boils; boil for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.

• Pour hot pickling liquid over green beans. If liquid doesn’t cover green beans, top off with boiling water; cover jar and allow to cool before storing in refrigerator for a minimum of 2 days before eating.

Notes

• Keep refrigerated - unopened jars can be refrigerated for up to 6 months.

• Fresh wax beans may be substituted.