I am all italian and I one thing I can make really well is tomato sauce. I always use furmanos canned tomatoes so i cant help you with how to prepare your tomatoes from your garden however I know you have to peel them and boil them down for a long time. once you have prepared your tomatoes follow these directions for a classic italian marinara. For the equivilant of one can of sauce.. you will need:
1 large onion chopped
about 5-7 cloves of garlic
(fresh garlic is a must garlic powder of can garlic is too strong)
1 carrot shredded or pureed (very small)
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2-3/4 of tbsp dried oregano
1/2 - 3/4 of tbsp dried basil
(I never measure my spices I just shake them in so these are estimates)
2 tsp of sugar
plenty of salt to taste.
A mistake many people do that ruins tomato sauce, is they cook their sauce with black pepper!! It will turn the whole sauce bitter. If you want to have sauce with a bite then add some red papper flakes.
Italian sausage makes tomato sauce have a great taste but that is optional.
Directions:
In a large pot put onion, garlic, carrot, and oil and cook on medium heat until onion become a little translucent. Dont burn garlic. If you are cooking with meat add that in now too. then add tomato sauce and spices. bring to a slight boil then reduce heat to the lowest setting. Let simmer until the flavors meld which is about 3 hours (I think) Dont let the sauce boil that whole time you may have to move it to a small burner. use your judgement carrot must be completely cooked and soft so that the person eating the sauce doesnt know that there is carrot in the sauce. Taste the sauce and see if it needs any additional spices. This is usually when I may add more salt. Sauce often taste better the day after you cook it.
Barilla pasta is the best make sure you salt the water.
and enjoy!!
E.