Aromatic Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Dear Andrew, Addison, Family and Friends;

One of my personal goals for this blog is to change your mindset about cooking and meal planning. My mindset about meal planning for breakfast changed  when my husband, Jonathan and I visited Italy last year. They serve tomatoes at breakfast! Tomatoes were served freshly sliced, or oven roasted. You can add them to a breakfast sandwich or eat them on their own.  As I thought about this, it makes sense to eat tomatoes for breakfast, while its botanically a fruit, for culinary purposes we think of a tomatoe as a vegetable. Either way they are delicious. Tomatoes contain lycopene which is thought to have beneficial health effects. There are so many varieties of tomatoes but today I am going to tell you about Italina plum tomatoes. When you purchase tomatoes, think first about when you plan on having them in a meal, this will depend on how ripe you should buy your tomatoes. Since its only March, tomatoes are imported from warmer climates or are grown in a greenhouse. Tomatoes should be allowed to ripen on the kitchen counter, not in a refirgerator. When you put a tomatoe in a refigerator, it changes the texture and the flavor of the fruit.  The shelf life of a tomatoe is 3-4 days, so be sure to use it within this time frame.

Slow roasting is one of the best uses for winter tomatoes because it intensifies their sweetness.

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Just a sprinkle of sugar

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Tiny pinch of  basil

Tiny pinch of dried oregano

Freshly ground pepper

Plum Tomatoes: Buy 12, so you can use these tomatoes in a sauce or for breakfast or in a panini. Cut the tomates in half lengthwise.

Cooking Spray

Preheat your oven to 200*. Combine the firsst 7 ingredients in a large bowl, tossing gently to coat. Arrange tomatoes, cut side up, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Roast at 200* for 5 hours.

You can use these tomatoes on a English Muffin for breakfast maybe add a little of your favorite cheese. You can now put these extra tomatoes in your refrigerator up to 4 days. Be sure to wrap them well.

Enjoy a healthy breakfast,

Love Mom