Here is how to make it.

Buy a large can of plum tomatoes: This one is $7.99 at Gordon Food in Grand Rapids. This brand—Alta Cucina—of whole, peeled, plum tomatoes has just the right tang for my taste.

Get hold of a head of garlic.

Buy a bunch of fresh basil. I bought some at Asian Delight in Grand Rapids. It is Thai basil, just under $3.00. This basil has a noticeable anise note.

Have ready some olive oil.

1. Prepare all the garlic cloves from a whole head of organic garlic by removing the root end and the skin from each clove.

2. Chop them somehow. I use an electric chopper — a small food processor.

3. Remove the basil leaves from the stems. Rinse them and dry them.

4. Open a large can of plum tomatoes: Pour off the tomato sauce so that you have just the plum tomatoes—use the poured-off sauce for making something else, like marinara or chili con carne. Process the tomatoes in a food processor with the chopped garlic and basil leaves. You may need to do this in two batches. At some point while processing, add a total of about a quarter cup of olive oil.

5. Place the different batches in a medium-sized bowl and mix together with a ladle. Let it melf for a half hour or so; then, place it all in a small-hole strainer or wire seive that is big enough. Create an open space in the middle by squishing the pizza sauce up the sides. Let it drain for an hour. That way, you will have a nice, thick sauce for spreading on pizza.

6. I like to store the sauce in my deep freeze in two a gallon-freezer bag, with the finished pizza sauce spread out relatively flat across the whole bag; then, I break off as much as I need for an individual pizza and thaw it in the microwave or simply on the counter in a small bowl. You should plan on about three-quarters of a cup for a twelve-inch pizza. If the weeks go by and you have not made enough pizza, switch to using this sauce as marinara, with any pasta and with any additional ingredients, like meat.

Substitute at will, but try to use plum tomatoes from Italy—they are grown in volcanic soil and are high in acid, which is the flavor you want in pizza sauce.

Enjoy.