Most summer weekends, if you're looking for me, check in the kitchen. Specifically, check in the vicinity of the stove where I'll likely be canning, jamming, pickling or otherwise preserving that which I can buy at the farmer's market, grow or forage. I dry things. I freeze things. Its hard work. It makes me sweat and it makes my back hurt. It has been known to make me cranky.This summer for a variety of reasons, I've done none of that, and I have, in fact, missed it. So today, with summer nearly over, I got a late start. So far today, I've pickled beets from the garden, made and frozen several freezer trays of basil pesto, and slow-roasted the tomatoes that you see above. These tomatoes are something I've done for a couple of years now and I know that I would miss them terribly come February if I don't get them done this year, too.
The recipe is simple: Get your hands on as many meaty Roma tomatoes as you can. I bought a nice large bagful from one of my favorite market veggie vendors, Ken. Wash and core them. Cut them in half length-wise and seed them. Lay them on cookie sheets that have been rubbed with olive oil. Drizzle more oil over them and then sprinkle them with sugar. For two cookie sheets of cheek-to-jowl tomatoes I used about 2 tablespoons of sugar. Avoid the temptation to salt them as that will draw out too much moisture. Crack some pepper over them and pop them in a 250 degree oven for about 3 hours.
You'll know when they're done when you can no longer resist taking a taste. The smell of sweet roasted tomatoes will fill your house and make you crazy. They are delicious on a slice of fresh bread, chopped into pasta or, as I enjoyed some today, eaten out of hand while standing over the kitchen sink. They are moist and get slightly chewy and even a bit crunchy on the edges. Divine. The pan you see in the photo above is now in my freezer. I like to freeze them individually and then bag them up for throwing in with roasted root vegetables during the dark heart of winter.
There's much that I didn't get done today that I meant to - there are blackberries to pick and can and green beans to pickle with garlic and dill. But of course, I'm tired and my back hurts and I'm a bit cranky and there's always tomorrow. . .
