Slow and Low Isn’t Always Preferred

For real, I’m not just trying to pimp out 100 Ways to Use a Tomato. I also am a tomato lover and need ideas on what to do with all of the tomatoes laying claim to my kitchen. Because I am a virtual worker I also have time to cook during the day, or at least be watchful of items while they are cooking.

This means I can finally soak and cook beans and not rely on cans. I can cook down tomatoes for a thick sauce. And while we’re on tomatoes, I can roast tomatoes in a low, slow oven. (And please give me suggestions for other dishes I can cook all day.)

I spied my inspiration in the third row, second column of the 100 tomatoes post: a parade of shriveled, red splotches.

Kale, Corn and Roasted Tomato Salad

I skimped a bit on ingredients compared to Simple Bites’  version. I only used salt, pepper and oil on the tomatoes, omitting the garlic and thyme. I did however, test out a companion for the tomato: tiny onions. I split the onions in half and dressed them the same as the tomatoes. At 225 degrees for over 4 hours, these guys had plenty of time to dry out. The tomatoes worked out well, although I wish I pulled them 30 minutes earlier. The onion (final product here) turned a bit dry on the edges, but was mostly soft and sweet.

It definitely didn’t need that treatment. I’m not sure if they would have turned out better if kept whole or simply didn’t need that much cooking time. I’ll have to keep experimenting with these abundantly sweet onions from Smallwood Veggieporium at the Mt. Pleasant Farmers’ Market.

When I started this venture I wasn’t sure where the tomatoes and onions would end up. Eventually they starred in a salad that ended up being stuffed in tacos. The rest of the salad consisted of kale: kept raw; corn: scraped from the cob and browned in oil with plenty of salt; bell and poblano peppers: charred on a scarily hot pan, then diced; and purple basil, roughly chopped.

Dress with yogurt mixed with: a variety of hot peppers, sliced horizontally to keep in a wagon wheel shape (imagine the membranes and seeds as spokes); white wine vinegar, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper.