Fresh Tomato Sauce, a guest post by Kate

***Something strange happened and this post has posted twice. Identical posts, very strange***

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Kate is a new-ish blogging friend of mine, meaning new to me…not new to blogging. She is brave in the kitchen (see her Tuscan chicken under a brick recipe), she loves pictures and her blog posts are full of lovely step by step guides. I hope you enjoy Kate as much as I do.

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First, I would like to thank Jamie for letting me guest post this week while she’s on vacation. It’s an honor to write a post for her terrific blog and I’m delighted to get the chance to share one of my favorite recipes with you! I hope she is relaxing and getting some much deserved rest!

To introduce myself, my name is Kate Battistelli and I’m a wife, mother and a lover of food, family, gardening, entertaining and home preserving. I live and cook in Orlando, Florida. My goal is to help you provide your family with healthy, delicious, made-from-scratch meals every day of the week. I have a wonderful husband, Mike and a lovely daughter, Contemporary Christian recording artist Francesca Battistelli. She’s married to Matthew Goodwin and they have given Mike and I a beautiful grandson, Matthew Elijah. I’m currently writing my first book entitled Growing Great Kids. It’s designed to inspire parents to partner with God to mine the greatness in their children by raising them to reach their highest potential.

I love to blog and mine is called The Kitchen Princess. I’m inspired to teach folks how to make healthy meals with out additives or preservatives. Each post shares step by step techniques to help make your cooking experience a little easier. Here’s one of my go-to recipes for tomato sauce. It’s simple, inexpensive, healthy and tasty. And a great way to use up excess tomatoes!

Fresh Tomato Sauce In A Flash – Ingredients

At the moment, I have loads of tomatoes growing in my backyard. In Florida, tomatoes come early and are gone by July because of the intense heat.

We are only able to eat so many tomato salads and salsas so at least once a week, it’s time to make fresh tomato sauce. Just a few basic ingredients and in about 15 minutes you’ll have a wonderfully fresh and deeply tomatoey sauce to pour over pasta, use in eggplant parmesan or chicken cacciatore or anything else your family loves! Serve this over a big bowl of pasta, add a green salad, some freshly grated parmesan cheese and some crusty Italian bread. Delicioso!

Fresh tomato sauce.

Roma Tomatoes – Aren’t they beautiful?

With a sharp knife, cut an X in the end of each tomato.

Put tomatoes in hot water for a minute then plunge into an ice water bath.

The tomatoes will be very easy to peel.

Squeeze peeled tomatoes to remove seeds and excess liquid. Roughly break them up with your hands.

Saute garlic in olive oil.

Add tomatoes to the garlic and cook for a few minutes. They will start to release a lot of liquid.

Remove tomato pulp from pan and let remaining liquid cook down for about 5 minutes.

The liquid is cooked down enough when your spoon leaves a mark when you run it across the bottom of the pan.

Add the tomatoes back in to the cooked down liquid. Add sugar, oregano and crushed red pepper.

Fresh, gorgeous tomato sauce!

Fresh Tomato Sauce In A Flash – Ingredients

• 2 pounds Roma tomatoes (about 12-15), or any tomatoes you like
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• a few tablespoons olive oil

Fresh Tomato Sauce In A Flash – Method

1. First, you have to remove the skin from the tomatoes. Bring a pot of water to a simmer. Cut an X in the bottom of each tomato. Gently place tomatoes in the hot water.
2. Let them sit in there for 45-60 seconds. The skin will start to loosen at the X.
3. Put a large bowl of water and ice in your sink. Remove tomatoes from the boiling water bath and plunge into the ice water. This makes the skins super easy to remove.
4. Remove skins from tomatoes by peeling with a sharp paring knife. Cut off the stem end as well.
5. Squeeze tomatoes to remove as many seeds and as much liquid as possible. Roughly break up tomatoes with your hands and put in a bowl. Set tomatoes aside.
6. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. When hot, add garlic and saute for a few moments.
7. Add the tomatoes to the garlic and break them up with a spoon as you stir them around. Add a few pinches of salt.
8. Let the tomatoes cook a few minutes and you’ll see them start to break down.
9. The sauce will look watery. Remove tomato pulp from pan and let the liquid cook down for about 5 minutes. It will thicken. Add the tomatoes back in.
10. Add the sugar, oregano and crushed red pepper and a splash of olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Princess Tips

• I prefer Roma tomatoes for sauce but any kind will work.
• Feel free to switch up the herbs. Fresh basil would be delicious.
• Add a splash of balsamic vinegar before serving to deepen the flavor.

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• Posted in: blogging ♦ Cooking ♦ dinner ♦ food ♦ homemaking ♦ lunch ♦ meatless ♦ things that make you go Yum
• Tagged: balsamic vinegar, basil, Cooking, crushed red pepper, Francesca Battistelli, Fruit and Vegetable, Garlic, Home, Olive oil, oregano, Roma tomatoes, Salt, Sugar, Tomato, Tomato sauce