Ah sun-dried tomatoes. My mouth watered at the thought and I imagined dark eyed women with long wavy hair and colorful peasant skirts placing tomatoes out to dry. I then imagined myself as one of them, singing in a beautiful country side.
But who was I kidding? I live in the city. I'd have to lay my beautiful tomatoes out on asphalt and then fight off the gigantic rats and pigeons for a taste.
So instead I cheated a bit. I cut my tomatoes in half and placed them (cut side up) in a glass dish. I drizzled a little bit of olive oil over them and sprinkled them with salt, pepper, and oregano. Then I put them in a 200 degree oven and waited... and waited... and napped... and waited...
Here's what they looked like going into the oven:
After 3 hours of baking they just looked wrinkled.
After 6 hours of baking, a rich tomato aroma filled our apartment.
After 10 hours of baking, they were still not quite done. By that time I couldn't wait any longer, so I took them out and ate one. It was tangy and delicious.
So you may be wondering, will I be making these again?
Heck no.
The next time I want to live out my pastoral Italian daydreams, I 'm just going to put on a peasant skirt and buy a container of these from the store.