Green Nosh

6 medium garden tomatoes

1C burgundy wine

6oz can tomato paste

1t brown sugar (optional)

2 – 4 cloves garlic minced

1 medium onion chopped

1 medium zucchini cut into pieces

6 – 8 button mushroom tops sliced

1 green pepper core and chop

¼ C. fresh basil chopped

Oregano, salt, pepper to taste

Put the fresh tomatoes in the freezer at least 24 hours*. Remove when ready to cook, hold under running water and twist slightly with both hands, the skin will peel right off, stems too. Put each tomato upside down on cutting board, put opposite hand flat across back of kitchen knife and cut in half carefully with a rocking motion, cut each tomato roughly into 8 pieces and place in large saucepan or soup kettle, add wine, tomato paste and brown sugar and simmer. Tomatoes should break down into a perfect puree;  meanwhile, sauté garlic and onion in 2T oil of choice until garlic is lightly browned, add both to sauce. Add remaining ingredients and simmer, stirring occasionally about an hour.

Serve with pasta, or make lasagna

*obviously you can use canned tomatoes, or fresh chopped tomatoes instead of freezing them. But anyone who grows tomatoes usually has so many, if you put some in the freezer, they’ll be ready to cook with. But they don’t last forever in there!