A Homemade Tomato Juice

5 pounds of very ripe garden tomatoes, peeled,         cored, and seeded
1 small red onion, cut in quarters
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved lengthwise
2 ribs of celery, with the leaves, cut into large            chunks
1 small bay leaf
1 or 2 (According to your taste.) serrano
      peppers, whole and pierced with a toothpick
4 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon of whole black peppercorns
Salt
Sugar

Combine all the ingredients except the salt and the sugar in heavy stockpot or Dutch oven. Place over medium heat.

When the tomatoes come to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and cook for 30 minutes. Stir one or twice during the cooking process.

Remove the pot from the heat and allow it to cool for 15 minutes, covered.

Discard the bay leaf, the parsley, the celery, and the peppers.

Press the mixture through a food mill or a sieve, discard the solids, and chill the juice.

When the juice is thoroughly chilled, taste it and adjust the seasoning with salt and a wee bit of sugar. Don't over sweeten it.

Taste the juice again, and adjust the flavor with salt or sugar. Adjust carefully; you can't remove the salt and sugar once you've added them.

Serve chilled.

Garnish with a wedge of lime or rib of celery.