Operation Sun-Dried Tomato

Too many tomatoes, too many tomatoes!!! And not to sound selfish, because I have been giving away tomatoes to neighbors and friends all summer, but I can tell the cherry tomato vine is on it's last leg and I just somehow wanted to preserve these little beauties so I could enjoy them. I have worked hard this summer and deserve to now hoard the bounty! I froze a bunch last year, but they immediately turned to mush once added to a recipe and no one likes mushy tomatoes. So I thought, hmmmmm. What about sun-dried tomatoes? Is it even possible to do this at home without a dehydrator or a desert? Because even though Austin is hot, it's MUGGY and I'm sure anything left outside would turn into a moldy mess within hours! But sure enough, the clever people that post things on the internet came to my rescue! Sun-dried tomatoes in the oven!!!

First I washed and dried luscious, little jewels of tomatoes!
Then I sliced them all in half and sprinkled them lightly with sea salt.
Next I popped them into the oven on 200*F and forgot about them!
About 4 hours into it, a most intoxicating aroma came wafting from my oven, I decided to check them and stir them around a bit to ensure even drying.
I returned them to the oven and began checking on them periodically and about 2-1/2 hours later I was rewarded with my first sun-dried tomatoes!! Just like tart little tomato raisins with such a burst of flavor! Awesome! I started picking out the ones that were done and returning the others to the oven. All in all, to get the entire batch done, it was about 8-ish hours. But they turned out perfectly dried and insanely yummy! And being that every website I perused stated that setting them in oil at home is a BAD idea due to high possibility of food poisoning, I decided to be satisfied with my little tomato raisins and call it a day! Here is a look at the finished product, ready for use in pasta or pizza and can be stored in the pantry for at least a year (not that they'll even last that long)!