Sun Dried Tomatoes - Make Your Own

Summer is nearing its end here in the northern half of Michigan and many other places around the globe. One fruit of which our garden has an abundance this year is Roma tomatoes. Since I am working an outside job, homeschooling two children, and trying to work at my writing career, I didn't want to spend all of my time canning little tomatoes or, worse yet, juicing them for sauce or whatever.

I scoured my recipe books until I found a great one in the dehydrator instruction book. It is for Mock Sun Dried Tomatoes. Here's what you do:

Wash your ripe Roma tomatoes and halve them. Place them cut side down on the drying trays and dehydrate on high for as long as 72 hours.

The tomatoes need to be really dry - as in crisp. Here's what they look like after a looooong time in the deydrator.

Once you get enough to fill a jar (I used pints. You can use quarts or whatever size fits your lifestyle). Pack the clean (and I would sterilize them) jars with the dehydrated tomatoes, about a teaspoon of crushed garlic (for pint jars) and a teaspoon of dried basil (again, for pint jars). Cover with olive oil and place caps on jars. You don't have to worry about sealing in a canner or anything like that. Do screw on the lid tightly. Place the jars on a shelf in a dark and cool place for at least a month. Mine are sitting on the pantry shelf in my garage. My garage does not usually freeze in the winter due to the fact that the furnace resides out there - and that keeps it warm enough to be above freezing.