Tomatoes and I - a change of heart?

I feel very lucky to say that I found some of the best friends in the world at the age of 5. Who knew a five-year old was capable of making such important and lifelong decisions? As it turns out, I picked a pretty awesome group of my girls in elementary school, and we have remained friends ever since. No matter how long it has been since we've last seen each other (or really, since I've seen them since I live so far away), it always feels like no time has passed. That's a really great feeling :)

Last weekend, my childhood friends and I rented a home on Long Island.  It was such a perfect mini-vacation. We stayed in Mattituck, which was an adorable, sleepy, little town (it was the off-season...)  on the North Fork of Long Island. It was great to spend 3 days with some of my most favorite people in the world! I hardly get to see these ladies as much as I would like, and considering how busy everyone is with jobs/graduate school/medical school/life, it is very surprising that we were all free this same weekend. We spent the weekend laughing, reminiscing, EATING, drinking wine, bike riding, watching movies, and just having a great time. When and where will our next weekend getaway be?!

Our first stop in Mattituck was to secure provisions = food and wine. We stopped at The Village Cheese Shop (www.thevillagecheeseshop.com/), where we bought bread, jam, loads of cheese, veggie pate (think baby food in a log that tastes DELICIOUS!), and olives and TOMATOES.

I hate tomatoes. Well...only raw tomatoes. I love ketchup, pasta sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, salsa (even the fresh kind..weird, I know), bruschetta, tomato jam, tomato soup, and pretty much anything else that is made with tomatoes. Friends have force fed me tomatoes during study abroad in Italy, claiming that Italian tomatoes were so tasty and there was no way I couldn't like them. When I hastily spit them out, we reached the conclusion that if I didn't like those tomatoes, I would never like them. While I still would never eat a raw tomato...the roasted tomatoes with herbs and olive oil from The Village Cheese Shop have brought me one step closer to loving tomatoes. So, ever since I came back from Long Island, I have been craving these delicious morsels of tomato-y goodness! And thus, my inspiration for this next recipe:

Oven-Roasted Tomatoes with Herbs

(adapted from www.davidlebovitz.com/2012/05/oven-roasted-tomatoes-tomato-recipe)

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbl olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, sliced thin
• 1 lb tomatoes
• dried herbs (I used rosemary)
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF (165ºC.)
2. Pour the olive oil into a shallow baking dish or pan and add the garlic, dried herbs, salt, and pepper.
3. Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally, then use a sharp knife to remove the stems, if you wish. Toss the tomatoes with the oil and seasonings, then lay them cut side down in the dish.
4. Bake for two hours, or until the tomatoes are completely softened and wilted, and start to wrinkle. Depending on the tomatoes, they may take longer to cook.

I served the tomatoes with a baguette and goat cheese. The leftover olive oil and tomatoes (if there are any after this weekend) will be added to pasta. YUM. 

And so begins my love of tomatoes.