In spite of the evil squirrels' best efforts and a distinct lack of high productivity from our Roma and heirloom tomato plants, our grape tomato is producing abundant, oversized fruit. Add to these a few Romas that I pick at about half-ripe to keep them out of the hands of the squirrels and the amount of tomatoes on our counter becomes overwhelming quickly.

I give many away and Justin and I eat a lot, which is pretty funny for people who only a few years ago would have sworn we didn't like tomatoes. The children still make that claim and we don't push it. Sometimes they have to try a bite or two, but that's not going to go very far towards reducing the summer's bounty. So in addition to adding tomatoes to everything, eating fresh tomatoes all the time and giving away a bushel, I've also been making a lot of spaghetti/all-purpose chunky tomato sauce. We've eaten some and it's delicious, but most of it has gone into the freezer next to the homemade pesto to be eaten sometime next fall when we don't have fresh tomatoes to enjoy.

Here's the recipe I've been using, which has been adapted from a few different recipes.

Spaghetti Sauce

3 onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
a large celery rib, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 small zucchini, shredded
1/2 cup red wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
16 cups fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons fresh oregano
2 tablespoons fresh basil
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and add onion, garlic, celery, and carrot. Saute about 5 minutes. Add red wine; simmer wine and vegetables for another 5 minutes.
2. Scrape vegetables into a crockpot. Add tomatoes, oregano, basil, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 hours on low heat. Stir frequently.
3. Let sauce cool, taste seasonings and add more basil and oregano if desired. Stir in can of tomato sauce. Pour sauce into quart size freezer containers. Store in freezer.