(Alternative - roast tomatoes, see below) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place tomatoes a few at a time in the water and remove after 10-15 seconds.

Immediately place tomatoes in an ice-water bath and remove skins and stems. Cut tomatoes into fourths and place in a food processor or blender.

Process tomatoes a few times, you want them to be the consistency of crushed tomatoes (don't over process). Set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions and sauté until they become soft and transparent.

(Alternative - add meat or vegetables, see below) Add mushrooms and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add soy sauce and garlic and continue to cook until mushrooms become soft.

Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, brown sugar, salt and pepper.

Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally for at least one hour. The longer the better! Ideally 2+ hours.

Serve over cooked pasta.

Make it a Meat Sauce. Once you have a sauce simmering on the stove, you can add all kinds of meat to create a savory meat sauce. I will often do a mixture of ground beef and ground pork but Italian sausage, ground turkey, ground chicken, beef short ribs, or even meatballs can be added for more protein.

More Garden Fresh Ingredients. If you like a “chunky” homemade garden spaghetti sauce, just chop up any veggies you like and stir them in while sautéing the onions.

Roasting Fresh Tomatoes Another suggestion for Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes comes from one of our readers, Diana. She says, “I have a suggestion for those who don’t mind the extra time it might take. I started roasting my fresh tomatoes last year for canning and wow! what a difference that made! The natural sugars come out and it also concentrates the tomato flavor.” Here are her suggestions: