If you're like us you love cherry tomatoes right off the vine on a warm summer day.

There's nothing sweeter!

There comes a time, however, in our garden when the number of tomatoes available is more than we can eat just plucking and snacking. Recently, we tried out a very simple 5 minute cherry tomato sauce recipe. (see below) The sauce is great with chicken and pasta or could be frozen and later used as a sauce for pizza or a base for soup!

Even our 4H Clover Buds couldn't devour the plentiful harvest!

Here's the recipe, borrowed from My Family Table, a cookbook by Chef John Besh.

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 2 quarts ripe cherry tomatoes (any color you have! )

• Leaves from 3 sprigs of basil

• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flake

• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1)  Heat oil in large, deep skillet over high heat until hot. Add tomatoes,pepper flakes and garlic and cook until tomatoes come to a full boil. Cook 5 minutes more, until most tomatoes have collapsed, crushing them with back of a wooden spoon.

2)  Using a food mill, puree sauce or push through a strainer into a bowl with rubber spatula. Discard skins. If you don't have a food mill or a strainer, a blender works just as well.

3)  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into a jar and refrigerate or put into quart containers to freeze for later. 

Makes 1 quart.

Enjoy!