Tomatoland

Our grape tomato plants are going crazy. We've been getting more than a quart of tomatoes every day and that's at lot of grape tomatoes for two people to eat. I've already made several batches of pizza sauce for the freezer and today I made some oven roasted tomatoes using a recipe from Vegetable Harvest by Patricia Wells. I've made this recipe before but I had forgotten just how good it is.

Oven-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

2 pounds fresh cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved
Fine sea salt to taste
A pinch of confectioners’ sugar
2 sprigs fresh thyme, stemmed

• Preheat the oven to the lowest possible setting, about 200 degrees F.
• Arrange the tomato halves side by side on a baking sheet. Sprinkle each side lightly with salt, pepper and confectioner's sugar. Scatter the thyme leaves over the tomatoes. Place in the oven and roast until the tomatoes are very soft, about 1 hour. Turn the tomatoes, baste with the juices, and cook until meltingly tender, and reduced to about half their size, about 2 hours total. Check the tomatoes from time to time: They should remain moist and soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool thoroughly.
• Transfer the tomatoes to a jar, cover with the cooking juices, cover securely, and refrigerate, for up to 1 week. Use in salads, on sandwiches, for pasta, or anywhere you want a rich, pure, tomato flavor.