Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Sun-dried tomatoes- A delicious fail

When I was at the grocery store the other day I spied a great sale on some organic tomatoes.  I couldn't help myself and promptly bought a whole bunch.  But when I got home I had no idea what to do with them. And then a crazy thought popped into my head:  I'm going to make me some sun-dried tomatoes.

Ah sun-dried tomatoes.  My mouth watered at the thought and I imagined dark eyed women with long wavy hair and colorful peasant skirts placing tomatoes out to dry.  I then imagined myself as one of them, singing in a beautiful country side. 

But who was I kidding?  I live in the city.  I'd have to lay my beautiful tomatoes out on asphalt and then fight off the gigantic rats and pigeons for a taste. 

So instead I cheated a bit.  I cut my tomatoes in half and placed them (cut side up) in a glass dish.  I drizzled a little bit of olive oil over them and sprinkled them with salt, pepper, and oregano.  Then I put them in a 200 degree oven and waited... and waited... and napped... and waited...

Here's what they looked like going into the oven:














After 3 hours of baking they just looked wrinkled. 
After 6 hours of baking, a rich tomato aroma filled our apartment. 
After 10 hours of baking, they were still not quite done.  By that time I couldn't wait any longer, so I took them out and ate one.  It was tangy and delicious.
 


So you may be wondering, will I be making these again? 
Heck no. 

The next time I want to live out my pastoral Italian daydreams, I 'm just going to put on a peasant skirt and buy a container of these from the store.