How many ways can you eat cherry tomatoes? If you are growing tomatoes you probably know the challenges. Our big boy red tomatoes are just now starting to ripen, but we’ve been working our way through many many sun gold tomatoes that you see here. Last year I made a Cherry Tomato Gazpacho which turned out quite nicely, but I’m always anxious to try new things. Our new oven has a dehydration mode, which seemed exciting until I realized it would take up to 12 hours, so I opted for the higher temp with a mere 5 hours of oven use. It seems a little crazy to do this with the hot days we’ve been having, but really a 225° oven doesn’t really warm up the kitchen that much. You will probably see more pickling and preserving here over the next month or so, this is new territory for me, as well as Jeff, but we’re having a lot of fun with it, and the reward will be savoring our garden come winter. I would guess that you could just put the tomatoes on a baking sheet without the herbs and brown sugar, but it really gives it a nice flavor, these would work great in pasta or salads, or even just to snack on, they are so tasty! Enjoy!

Dried Tomatoes with Herbs

3 pounds tomatoes
2 tablespoons fresh thyme (or fresh oregano)
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 225°. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. For cherry tomatoes slice in half and arrange cut side up on baking sheet, for roma tomatoes quarter lengthwise and arrange in single layer. In small bowl combine brown sugar, salt and pepper. Sprinkle mixture over tomatoes, then sprinkle with chopped herbs. Bake for 5 to 6 hours (4-5 hours for cherry tomatoes) or until leathery but not brittle, turning tomatoes after 2 hours. Remove tomatoes and allow to cool to room temperature. Store in container in the refrigerator or can be frozen up to 9 months.

Adapted from Canning Magazine