One of my favorite times of the year is when the tomatoes begin to ripen.
Tomatoes can be fixed so many ways. I like a big, juicy slice on a piece of whole-wheat toasted bread.
With a dash of salt and pepper and a little no-fat Miracle Whip, I am set for a summer treat.
One of the benefits of traveling and working in the food world is that you meet experts from all over the country. One day, as I was leaving the NBC "Today" show after a nightly rehearsal, I met a group of people from Boston who were also going to be on the show.
Roger Burkowitz, the owner of Legal Seafood in Boston, was there with his corporate chef, Guida Ponte. If you can grow it, Ponte can cook it.
She is from the Azores, a group of islands that belong to Portugal and are located in the middle of the Atlantic.
We all went to dinner that night, and what fun I had adding these wonderful people to my list of friends.
Ponte and I vowed that we would meet again and talk about food. We have done just that for the past 20 years. One of my favorite recipes that I learned from Ponte is how to prepare my own tomato sauce that I use for spaghetti, chili, tomato soup or just about any dish that calls for a tomato-based sauce.
The best thing about making this delicious sauce is I know the quality of the tomatoes, onions and garlic that go into the sauce. There are no hidden fillers, sugar or corn syrup in my tomato sauce.
Here's Ponte's recipe. The calories are much less than prepared sauces you buy in the store.
Guida's Tomato Sauce
15 tomatoes
2 large onions, peeled and quartered
5 cloves of garlic
Cover a large baking sheet, which has a good lip all the way around, with heavy duty foil. Cut the stems out of about 15 tomatoes (I use medium to large tomatoes) and place them cut side down on the tray, leaving about ½ inch between them to allow the hot air to circulate as you roast them.
Make a small cross slit on what is now the top of each tomato. Add two large, peeled and quartered onions and five cloves of garlic to the pan and place it in a 350 degree oven. Let the vegetables roast until the tomatoes look cooked and their skins slip off.
Take the tray out of the oven and pull the skins off the tomatoes with a pair of tongs (this is optional — you may prefer the skins left on).
Place all of the vegetables into a blender and process. Pour the mixture into a large saucepan and allow it to simmer at a low temperature, stirring it occasionally, until the tomatoes are thick like a spaghetti sauce. This may take a few hours.
You can add your favorite seasoning now or wait until you use the sauce.
After the sauce is thick, remove it from the range and allow it to cool. Bottle in pint or quart jars. Fill the jars to within ¾ of an inch of the top. This allows enough headspace so after the tomatoes are frozen you can put a lid and ring on and freeze. The sauce will last one year. Be sure to freeze before putting the lid on.
I really like having this delicious tomato sauce on hand. All you need to do is thaw in fridge and use in your favorite dish.
TV personality and author Dian Thomas shares her journey of weight loss, exercise and life on the run every other Tuesday in the Deseret News and at www.DianThomas.com. Her weekly blog also runs Mondays at deseretnews.com and she takes tour groups to China. Contact her at www.dianthomas.com/travel.htm.
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