So I made the tomato sauce..and I was so proud. I didn't can it but I was going to store it in canning jars in the fridge. I started with 6 lbs. of tomatoes. It seemed like a lot – to someone who almost never cooks. Funny – it only turned into a jar and a half of sauce

And then after I cleaned the kitchen I realized I had ten more tomatoes hiding under the plethora of cherry tomatoes in the big bowl…I could've had another jar!

I can't imagine how many tomatoes come out of big midwestern gardens that people can them. The peeling of the tomatoes alone was an epic adventure.

My first try at homemade tomato sauce with tomatoes and basil from my garden.

I used our 'best cookbook for everything cookbook' – The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook. It's about to come out in a new edition. It's great for when you've never made something before in your life – and when it comes to cooking that's most of the time for me…