DR Jose, thanks for suggesting I keep the tomato sauce simple. I cooked up a test batch tonight and pretty much followed your suggestion. I decided not to make a real spaghetti sauce, but just a tomato sauce I can be creative with later. It tastes quite good, actually. It's cooling and will go in the freezer before I go to bed.
I only used about 1/4 of the tomatoes that are ripe. I also got the ingredients for salsa and guacamole. I'll make some of that to just munch on.
I can't wait until the 13th when my new countertops, sink and most importantly working garbage disposal are installed!!
You're welcome, DR Cillaliz. As for pizza "sauce", a bunch of "traditional" pizzerias just used crushed tomatoes, with a bit of minced garlic - all "raw", not cooked. It cooks in the oven.
And there are some "real" spaghetti sauces that only use tomatoes, onions and garlic. The one addition that seems to be bring it all together is the addition of cheese to the sauce - pecorino romano and/or parmigiano reggiano. The cheese is the "salt", and acts as a thickener.
Finally, whether for a pizza or for spaghetti, the general rule of thumb is dried basil for long-simmered sauces, and fresh basil for a la minute preparations. The classic margherita is just tomato sauce, mozzarella, and fresh basil added as soon as the pie comes out of the oven. *And those components also match the colors of the Italian flag: green, white and red.