The sun has been shining and the Roma tomatoes were on sale. Perfect combination for making homemade sun dried tomatoes. I decided to do mine in slices. I laid them all out on the cookie sheets and drizzled them with a little olive oil and sprinkled with a bit of salt. I covered them with a layer of cheesecloth to keep any bugs or birds away, and then let the sun do the rest.
Since James started eating them like chips, I either had to start whacking his hand with a wooden spoon, or make some more. Of course, as soon as I had them all cut and on the sheets, the weather took a turn for fall. With temps in the high 60's the tomatoes weren't drying so fast.
Into the oven they went. I set it for my lowest setting (in my oven's case - 170 degrees) and just checked in every now and then.
The other thing I won't buy - salad dressings. They really are so easy to make, and since I make enough to last just a few meals, I don't have to worry about all the preservatives that I can't pronounce. We start with balsamic or red wine vinegar, add some garlic, shallots, lemon juice and salt. If you let it sit for a bit before you add your extra-virgin olive oil, the acid in the vinegar and lemon break down the pungency of the garlic. You can do it to your own taste but a good start is 1:2. I put it all in a small Mason jar and when it is time for salad, I just give it a couple good shakes.
I can't believe we never did this before. I tell you - I won't go back to the processed stuff!
(Homemade sauce will be another day!)
Yesterday was 90 and summer. Today is 60 and autumn. Haven't done sun-dried tomatoes in a while - love having them all winter. Salad dressings? I make my own the family still goes to the fridge for Ranch - what can I say?
ReplyDeleteI have some Ranch lovers too. :P
ReplyDeleteI love this!! Okay...so I bought all of my tomatoes and I'm ready to get started! How long did yours take? Yum - can't wait!
ReplyDeleteDon't use oil. Just lay them on a parchment lined cookie sheet. I start mine at 200 degrees and leave the oven cracked (it'll humidify your kitchen, but makes it go faster). You'll see when they are starting to dry. I turned mine over and turned my oven as low as it would go (170) and just checked in on them every so often.
ReplyDeleteI just bought 22 lbs of tomatoes and made a huge bunch for Christmas presents. They are in bags in the freezer and right before I will saute a little garlic and pack them with the garlic oil and fresh basil in mason jars with a pretty little ribbon. :)
Have fun!!
I'm an oil and vinegar fiend (or lemon and oil) but the kids always had a thing for Ranch dressing - from the bottle. So that's the dressing I buy. But am happy - because in general - buy few processed foods. Ever notice that almost all coupons are for processed foods?
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog and allowing me to find yours. You did a great job on these sun-dried tomatoes. I agree with you - why buy them (or salad dressing?) when you can make better ones at home?
ReplyDelete