Home Dried Tomatoes

Oh, dried tomatoes! They look so pretty -- like a treasure of red gems!
 And the taste of tanginess and goodness! Why not make your own dried tomatoes?
They are so easy to make and so good to have -- wonderful additions and garnishes to an uncountable variety of dishes.

The best thing about homemade dried tomatoes is that they are not tough -- just a bit chewy; and they have that great tangy tomato taste. And best of all -- there are no mysterious additives or preservatives, like nitrites, nitrates, sulfites, and their friends!

It's so easy to make your own dried tomatoes! Let's do it!

How to dry tomatoes in your oven:

You will need 15 ripe Roma or Plum tomatoes,

 oven-safe wire-racks to fit 30 tomato halves,

Directions:

Preheat oven to 215˚

Wash the tomatoes, cut off their stem ends, and slice them in half.

Place the sliced halves on the wire racks, with the cut side down. Leave space around each tomato half for air to circulate.

Bake the tomatoes for 4 to 5 hours -- until they look wrinkly, but not burnt on the edges. You may want to bake these longer if you like them more dried out.

 Let cool; you can store these in freezer for up to one month.