Lots of Tomatoes, Part II

Gleaning tomatoes at our CSA means taking pounds of tomatoes that we knew we couldn't eat before they rotted. After making fried green tomatoes, sharing some nice ripe tomatoes with family, and eating our fill of tomato sandwiches, I knew it was time to preserve the leftovers. When we had a garden, I used to blanch, skin and freeze tomatoes for winter use in chili and sauces. This works fine and I used this method for some of the tomato varieties.

But these gorgeous little tomatoes (I don't know what variety they are--they are almost like mini-Roma tomatoes) didn't seem fit for blanching and skinning. Instead, I oven-roasted them. After cutting them in half, mixing them with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and sprinkling with a little sea salt, I just popped them in the oven at 200 overnight. The next morning they were shriveled and pretty and tasty. Much tastier than the expensive sun-dried tomatoes I normally buy. I put them in the freezer where they should be fine for a few months. I read they can also be put in olive oil and stored in the fridge but they don't last as long.