Fresh garden tomato sauce

Pull off the green tops of the tomatoes and cut out the cores with the tip of a knife.

Cut the larger tomatoes in half and then in quarters; keep the small ones whole. Reserve in a bowl.

Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a pot over medium heat; add sliced garlic and sizzle about 30 seconds.

Add fresh basil leaves and cook about 30 seconds more, until the thinnest garlic slices just start to turn golden.

Carefully add the tomatoes to stop the garlic cooking before it turns dark and bitter; add a big pinch of salt and an optional pinch of chili flakes.

Raise the heat to medium high and cook, stirring if desired, until the tomatoes completely collapse and liquefy and the mixture simmers.

Turn off the heat and push everything through a strainer back into the pot, leaving only seeds and skins behind.

Return to medium (or medium high) heat and reduce a couple of minutes, until it thickens ever so slightly; it can be reduced by half for a thicker, jar-like sauce.