Using the Harvest - Oven Dried Tomatoes

With the never ending harvest of tomatoes this year I've  had to come up with more creative ways to use them up other than tomato sauce! I looked on the Internet and found a way to oven dry them. 

Ingredients

Tomatoes

Thyme/ Rosemary/ Oregano

Olive oil

Garlic

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to the lowest temperature possible; mine is 140 oC. Oil a baking tray.

2. Cut tomatoes in half and place them cut side up. Drub rosemary, thyme and oregano with oil and put them in between the tomatoes. Spray/ drizzle the top of the tomatoes with olive oil.

3. Bake for 2-6 hours. After 2 hours check cherry tomatoes to see if there done. You want them to be squishy but not brittle. 

4. Sterilize a jar and place a whole garlic clove, spring of rosemary (or other woody herb) and cooled tomatoes; fill to the top with olive oil. 

*Notes* Don't put in the fridge other wise the oil will 'set'. Use within a few weeks; but they'll be gone before you know it! Check the oven every half hour to make sure none of the tomatoes have burnt.

Progress Report

Everything has taken off with the warmer weather over the last few weeks so I thought I'd share some progress pictures. The pumpkins, basil, eggplant and tomatoes have all sprouted their first true set of leaves. Yesterday I transplanted the tomatoes into bigger containers and the sticky fly trap I put up has caught lots of flies! Unfortunately only 6 of my marigolds have survived a bug attack which is disappointing.

The wheel barrow is slowly bulking up; the nasturtiums are growing well, the Brahmi is creeping out and the thyme is flowering. The hellebore's and violets I planted recently are settling in well; and the lavender that I didn't think was going to survive is now in flower which is good to see. 

The Shallots are getting bigger and strong and have warded off an aphid attack very well. The Potatoes have grown to the top of the bags and are growing tall and strong. 

Last week I planted out the big veggie bed with the first lettuce, spinach and parsley that I've grown from seed. I also planted some red cos and marigolds with them that I bought. There are also lots of green strawberries on the newer strawberry plants. 

Progress Report

Here's a look at how the gardens going at the moment:

The over grown dwarf snow peas are slowly coming to an end; they got badly bashed around in the last storm we had. The potatoes have sprouted through and the wheel barrow has been planted up with edible flowers and herbs.

The hyacinths are long gone, but the tulips are just popping up.

 The red and brown shallots have all sprouted and are looking healthy so far. Unfortunately all my garlic has failed to thrive, gone limp and is now dying. This was such a blow to me because mum said garlic was fool proof!

The collection of mint living in the re-purposed cookware is thriving minus a small scale attack. There's common mint, apple mint, Vietnamese, spearmint and after dinner mint. Also the strawberry plants that I planted in May now have the biggest strawberries I've grown thus far.