How to Make Tomato Paste

As does often happen, I found myself at a site through a suggestion on a comment, then I lost the trail. But somehow I ended up at eHow and found this recipe for making my own Tomato Paste.
Let me share my thought process behind this:

I'd begun buying canned chicken for sandwiches instead of canned tuna. I thought it would be a nice change of pace for my hubby because he doesn't like fish, but doesn't MIND canned tuna salad sandwiches.
Well I was certainly surprised one day when I had some of it myself and couldn't remember if I'd used chicken or tuna because SERIOUSLY....it tasted like canned tuna. To my dismay, I went home and discovered I had indeed used canned chicken...and they taste. exactly. the same.

So if two such different flavors taste so much the same when they're canned, what else am I eating that I think I know what it should tast like but I'm. completely. wrong?

Enter tomato paste (among many other things). So many recipes call for tomato paste. Even some that call for fresh tomatoes also call for tomato paste. So I decided I wanted to try my hand at making my own tomato paste and see how it comes out....

And finally, here's the link! (Thanks for your patience!!!)

In addition, I have an idea for storage. It's recommended to use the paste right away or freeze it. Many recipes call for the standard size small can of paste, but some call for half a can, or another quantity. I think I'll freeze them first in an ice cube tray and weigh the average cube, then label the freezer bags with those weights. Just another tip you can use or not!

Elizabeth's Roasted Tomato Sauce

Recipe "Author":

Elizabeth of Elizabeth's Flowers. She is such an inspiration in her creative use of materials as well as her testimony. She also has a website for her pressed flower cards and art, using recycled paper (she recycles it herself), and an Etsy shop!

Original Recipe: roasted tomato sauce
15 cloves of peeled garlic
8 # of ripe tomatoes (any kind)
5 medium onions, quartered
1 cup of fresh herbs, chopped (I use a mixture of oregano, Italian flat leaf parsley, basil, thyme, and rosemary)
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of salt
freshly ground black pepper (I like a lot)
2-4 tablespoons of honey, optional

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Chop 5 of the cloves of garlic. Leave the remaining cloves whole. Cut each tomato in half. In a large roasting pan, carefully toss together the tomatoes, garlic, onions, herbs, oil, salt, and pepper.

2. Roast for 25 minutes. Gently stir. Roast for another 25 minutes, stir again. Roast another 45 minutes, or until tomatoes are softened and broken down into a sauce with a golden brown crust on top.
3. Remove from oven and taste for seasoning. Mash tomatoes slightly, (some chunks are nice) or blend until smooth if you wish. This sauce freezes well, or is great for canning. Use it with pasta, fish, or as a wonderful dipping sauce for really good french bread.

My alterations:
~No onions ('cuz I know my hubby's tummy won't appreciate them)
~1/4 cup dried herbs ('cuz I don't have my own fresh and WON'T pay out the you-know-what for them!)
~No salt or pepper. When I got married, I stopped using salt in most of my recipes because my hubby and I have VERY different tastes when it comes to salt, so we add it after if necessary.
~And I forgot the honey.
~I happened to have a few Sweet Banana Peppers from my mom's garden, so I sliced two up to add to the sauce. I kept the seeds, but discard those if you don't like the heat.
***AND be sure to wash your hands very well after handling peppers! If you happen to wipe your eyes before you wash up, you'll be sorry!
~Because it was late, once I took the sauce out of the oven, I removed the sauce from the roasting pan and put it in a dutch oven of sorts with an ice bath in the bottom half. (Two pans, the bottom one slightly larger having the ice water bath to cool the sauce a bit faster.)
~Then I took my immersion blender (long wand-looking blender used often for drinks, etc.) and blended it all together so it has some chunks but not too many. I also took out some of the skins, but not all.

The results:

My house smells SO good! I tasted a little and it was fantastic, I can't wait to have a whole meal of it!
I was a little surprised at how little sauce I got out of it though. I haven't measured it, but probably 3-4 cups of sauce from 8+ lbs of tomatoes. That may be normal, I don't know. (Never made my own sauce from fresh tomatoes before!)

The real test: (Will I make it again?)
Guaranteed YES!
(I'll probably double batch it to make it worth jacking my stove up to 450 for an hour and a half on a hot summer night though!)

***An idea - using a good oven thermometer, I could try this in a pan on the grill. Hmmm...something to consider!