Seasoned sauce

Yield: about 14 pints or 7 quarts

• 45 pounds tomatoes
• 6 cups chopped onions
• 12 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons oregano
• 6 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup salt (optional)
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper (optional)
• Bottled lemon juice

1. Wash tomatoes; drain.
2. Remove core and blossom ends.
3. Cut into quarters; set aside.
4. Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil in a large saucepot.
5. Add tomatoes, oregano, bay leaves, black pepper and sugar.
6. Stir in salt and crushed red pepper, if desired.
7. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaves.
8. Puree tomatoes using a food processor or food mill.
9. Strain puree to remove peels and seeds.
10. Cook pulp in a large, uncovered saucepot over medium-high heat until sauce thickens, stirring to prevent sticking.
11. Reduce volume by one-half.
12. Add 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice to each pint jar, 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice to each quart jar.
13. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps.
14. Process pints 35 minutes, quarts 40 minutes, in a boiling-water canner.