Lazy Summer Tomato Sauce

My daughter has been working at a produce stand for the past 4 summers. As a result she frequently comes home with baskets of over-ripe tomatoes impatient to be used. Mind you, I’m not complaining, this is a good problem to have. I’ve made about every iteration of gazpacho, soup, sauce and salsa with the tomatoes. But for this, the fourth summer, I’ve hit perfection with the sauce. The key is to slow simmer it, reducing down the juices to a rich, sumptuous sauce. And tossing in fresh oregano. It’s what I call a lazy, sauce–as I don’t even peel the tomatoes. I hack out any bad spots with a knife, toss the rest in a large stockpot or saucepan, and crush with my hands until it’s a soupy mess. The pot is set over medium heat to come to a boil, then lowered, at which point it happily simmers away while I go for a run or garden, or as in this case, binge watch “The Scandal” on Netflix with Nora. Once the sauce is thick, I crush a couple garlic cloves into it, splash with vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and slivers of fresh basil. Sometimes I add a dash or olive oil, sometimes not. Your call. It’s then spooned into jars, given to friends or stashed into the freezer.