--Take as many tomatoes as can fit halved on a jelly roll pan (you know, a cookie sheet with sides) or any roasting pan you have convenient. Romas work best, but any good tomato will do.

--Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

--Put a little olive oil in the pan, enough to coat the bottom.

--Core the tomates and halve them. DON'T PEEL THEM, DON'T SEED THEM. Put a single layer of them, cut side up, in the pan.

--Sprinkle minced garlic over the top (I make sure each half has at least a little), drizzle with olive oil, dust with salt and pepper, pop into the oven. Leave them there for at least 6 hours; 8 is best.

You can eat these as-is from the oven; they are absolutely fantastic. No words can describe them. You can also toss them with pasta. I mixed a batch of them with some cooked lentil--including the olive oil they roasted in--and boy that was delicious! You'll get all kinds of good ideas for these. My friend Jill W. gave me this recipe.