Jultember: drizzle like you mean it...

i put a serious dent in the big bowl of tomatoes from the balcony garden project. i was going to take the lazy route by dunking them in hot water to loosen the skins before peeling and chopping them to be frozen for later use. however, i decided to try a different approach at making use of too many tomatoes.

several (i did not count) tomatoes were cut in half and arranged on a parchment-lined baking sheet scattered with sprigs of fresh thyme and oregano. the tomatoes were sliced horizontally for maximum toasted-surface enjoyment.

i also tossed  in a handful of unpeeled garlic cloves. the garlic will not add much to the flavor in this form, but i have a lot of garlic on hand, and i can always find a use for roasted garlic... so why not?

next came a sprinkling of salt, sugar, and black pepper, followed by a few drops of balsamic vinegar applied to each tomato piece. then came some rosemary and even more oregano, thyme, and garlic (peeled and rough chopped this time around). finally, the whole thing was coated with a generous drizzle of olive oil.

this is no place for a miserly splash. drizzle like you mean it! it will not go to waste. the resulting tomato-garlic-herb-infused oil can be put to good use in so many delectable ways.

then into a 375°F oven for approximately forty minutes.

the tomatoes were fork-tender—and my tummy was rumbling—so i removed a couple pieces... strictly for quality-control purposes. at this point, it still looks like slices of raw tomato that have been dressed with some sort of vinaigrette, but i assure you that is not how it tastes.

the tomatoes have not been cooked nearly as long as for a typical pasta-type sauce, so it lacks the almost ketchup-like sweetness you find in those jars. it maintains all of the fresh-from-the-garden flavor, only enhanced with the almost-smoky flavor of toasted garlic and herbs. even the few drops of balsamic i splashed onto each piece of tomato seems to have undergone a tasty toasty transformation in the oven. so good!

then there was that texture.

although the knife feels like it is slicing through room temperature butter, the tomato still holds its shape when cut. see? no mush.

however, there was still a bit more water in the tomatoes at this point than i wanted, so i returned the tray—minus the two tasting pieces—to the oven for another fifteen minutes, then i turned off the heat and left it sitting in there with the door closed for another twenty minutes or so.

just give me a crusty baguette and a bottle of wine, and go talk amongst yourselves... all both of you.

those bits of garlic are toasty and the fresh herbs are doing that lovely, smokey thing that makes me smile.

i want to bottle this stuff. it is sooooo good.

my initial plan was to freeze most of it and leave a few pieces in the fridge for eating in the next day or two. i am still home alone, and i did not really envision a scenario in which i would eat so many tomatoes before the week is through.

but now... i am not sure.

i can easily see drizzling some of that flavorful oil over a bit of pasta, then topping it with a couple-few pieces of roasted tomatoes to be smashed and mixed in with the pasta as you eat. add a bit of freshly shaved Parmesan cheese, and that would be my idea of a truly tasty meal.

or maybe in a bowl of ramen... or maybe atop a juicy burger. no ketchup necessary with this one.

luckily there are more tomatoes waiting to be picked, because i get the distinct feeling i will be making this again before the week is through.