2026, crops, Food, Uncategorized

Birthday Sauce

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One my birthday Tuesday, more than one of my peeps said that they hoped I was able to not cook and just take it easy for the day.

My perfect day absolutely had cooking in it!   The weather was perfect for it, lovely and cool, but I would have cooked anyway.  Cooking is a gift I give myself.  Being overrun with tomatoes just cemented my desire.  There was a Sheet Pan Roasted Tomato Sauce recipe that I found in my Simply Tomato cookbook that I was looking forward to.  Here’s that recipe:

1 ½ lbs of tomatoes (all different varieties is fine), cut into chunks
1 large red bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 small onion, thinly slices
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
A few sprigs of fresh thyme
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon chili flakes
Salt & pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano, parsley, basil
Vegetable broth (if needed)
Lemon juice (if desired)
Pinch of sugar (if desired)

  1. Mix the tomato chunks, bell pepper, onion and thyme in olive oil
  2. Spread the veggies on a large rimmed baking sheet
  3. Sprinkle dried spices over the veggies
  4. Roast for 35-40 minutes (stirring a couple of times) until everything looks nicely roasted
  5. When cool, pick out as many tomato skins as your patience will allow.
  6. Scoop everything into a blender and blend on medium until you get the consistency you like. This is where you can add some veggie broth if the sauce is too thick.

When I weighed the tomatoes out, it seemed like such a small amount that I doubled the recipe.  You’d think that after cooking 3 pounds of tomatoes, that my tomato stash would have at least a dent in it…..There are already three tomato dishes in the fridge so I froze the whole batch.   I’m guessing that within a couple more days, I can probably do another batch of this sauce (it’s really good) unless I find another recipe that looks good.

Any new recipes you’re tried out recently?  Any over-abundance of produce in your world right now?

42 thoughts on “Birthday Sauce”

    2. I used to freeze ratatouille to have over baked potatoes in winter. I’m seeing you can also freeze roasted eggplant for baby gahnoush. If it seems watery when defrosted, just drain the excess off.

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  3. I now have 20 jars of pesto in the freezer. I use Marcella Hazen’s Blender Pesto recipe and freeze it without any cheese or butter. I add those Ingredients before serving. It was a good year for basil.

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      2. I think the fact that we still have frozen pesto from 2025 because we haven’t quite used up the frozen pesto from 2024 and we made 15 more jars this summer might suggest we have too much,

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        3. If you’re seriously still giving away basil, I’ll come get some. We never have too much pesto here. Ever.

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    2. The last few years we’ve been using the recipe from Love and Lemons, a food blog I like. It has a touch of lemon, which gives it just a little bit of tang — the only change that we make to the recipe is YA likes shredded Parmesan instead of grated Parmesan.

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  4. I made a tasty and easy dish called “Egg Rolls in a Bowl.” Basically, an egg roll with no egg roll wrappers—just the filling. This one called for ground pork. I used mild Italian sausage, and it worked just fine. I’m guessing one could omit the meat and have a vegetarian dish.

    I’m approaching critical mass on my tomatoes. Planning to eat 4-5 small ones tonight, but we’ll be gone for the weekend and there are probably two dozen in various stages of ripeness still on the vine. What a pleasant problem to have. Might need to buy some more bacon for a few BLTs or BLATs.

    Chris in Owatonna

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    1. Well, I doubled that recipe with 3 pounds of tomatoes so I highly make it recommend it for using up critical mass. And I froze it straight from the blender so it doesn’t have to be eaten up in the next few days.

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  7. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    VS, I will try that recipe. It sounds pretty wonderful. I will add basil.

    My basil is abundant, as are peppers. The Jalapeños are really producing. I will roast, then, peel, and chop those for the freezer. My favorite hot pepper, Fresno, are also producing. Those are always late. Soon I start jelly. Hot pepper, sour cherry, and wild grape if I can find them.

    No new recipes, but I will try VS’s and Renee’s crumble.

    The weather is gorgeous.

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  8. I’m a little disappointed in my garden right now, but I’ve learned a lot about gardening here, and in containers, this year.

    I have abundant Jelly Bean grape tomatoes and lots of long, skinny eggplants!

    I’d love to try that peach crumble, but it’s not in my diet plan right now.

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  10. potato pancakes have been in my bag of tricks for a while with easy recipiecshredded potatos with moisture squeezed out, onions shredded with desired moisture established over tests, eggs , saltine crackers have been replaced by bread crumbs and pepper.
    i asked a new york jew how his familly made theirs and he brought me a picture of the oli stained recipie adding baking soda and baking powder.
    its a great tweek

    i also add apples, turmeric, and garlic
    topped with apple sauce and sour cream

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  14. Ode to the Tomato

    The street
    filled with tomatoes,
    midday,
    summer,
    light
    is
    halved
    like
    a
    tomato,
    its juice runs
    through the streets.

    In December,
    unabated,
    the tomato
    invades
    the kitchen,
    it enters at lunchtime,
    takes
    its ease
    on countertops,
    among glasses,
    butter dishes,
    blue saltcellars.

    – Pablo Neruda

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