slow roasted tomatoes

if you are beginning to miss summer like i am missing summer, then try slow roasting some tomatoes to give your mood and your dishes a boost. roasting them with olive oil and garlic, vastly improves the tomatoes you find during winter that only vaguely resemble the summer ones from your own garden or local producer. use these on pasta, pizza, bread, salads, fish . . . anything that needs a little zing of summer sun in the dark days of winter. and then, remember, after the winter solstice, it's only 3 months until spring!

ingredients
• 3 lbs. or roma tomatoes
• 1 lb. of grape tomatoes
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• olive oil
• dried thyme
• dried oregano
• kosher salt & fresh ground pepper
directions
1. heat the oven to 225 degrees.
2. halve all of the tomatoes lengthwise and arrange them on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
3. sprinkle a little minced garlic over the tomatoes, and drizzle them with olive oil.
4. sprinkle the thyme on the romas & the oregano on the grape tomatoes.
5. give all of the tomatoes a dusting of salt and pepper.
6. roast them for 2-3 hours until they have shriveled but still hold their shape. the small ones take less time.
7. after they cool put them into airtight containers and give them another generous drizzle of olive oil. store them in the refrigerator.

sunny side up: slow roasting tomatoes vastly improves the winter ones you find in the markets.