Drying Tomatoes with Toddlers

This is the first year our family has had a garden. We've spent a lot of time planting, watering, pruning and harvesting. We've done so well, in fact, that I have WAY more tomatoes then I know what to do with! 

Yesterday, Ethan was watering the Zucchini and Butternut squash while Zoey was tending to the strawberries, mustard greens, broccoli and tomatoes. There were so many tomatoes just begging to be picked. So, Ethan grabbed a few green ones and Zo collected lots of orange ones, stuffing them into her swimsuit since she didn't had a basket on hand. I wish I had a picture of this! She looked like she had a beer belly and a Double D chest while she waddled up to the house with a swim suit full of tomatoes.

Once inside, I remembered that my Mom bought me a preserving book from a garage sale last summer. So Zoey and I took a look inside, hoping to find some fun ways to use these tomatoes we have (aside from eating them fresh of course). We decided to dehydrate them! 

I don't think we have used our dehydrator since we moved into this house a year ago and the kids have been wanting to use it so badly. I'm sure we will dry tons of apples when the season hits but for now I thought dehydrating the tomatoes was a great idea. 

Since Baby Livya was taking her morning nap, It was a bit easier for "E", Zoey and I were able to focus a bit better of getting the job done. 

Step 1 - Gather the tomatoes

Step 2 - Wash them. Zoey did this job

Step 3 - Cut them in half. Cut round ones horizontally and plum ones vertically. I did this job

Step 4 - Score the middles of the tomatoes with an X shape. Then push the bottom of the tomato up to expose more of the flesh. All three of us enjoyed doing this job.

Step 5 - Put the tomatoes, cut side up, on the racks of the dehydrator and sprinkle with salt. This was an Ethan job until it became clear he just wanted to eat the salt, at which point I took over. 

Step 6 - Turn the dehydrator on. Zoey plugged it in and turned the heat to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. We let it sit about 15 hours.

 We woke up this morning to our yummy dehydrated tomatoes. HOLY COW! These guys taste like tomato soup in a chip. The flavor was intense! I need to make Jilly's Cajun Chicken Pasta soon, chop some of these guys up and add them to the pasta… that would be so yummy.

We packed the cooled tomatoes into a jar and are storing it in the fridge. It should last about 2 weeks in the fridge. However, you can keep them in the freezer for a year. Just pack them into bags and freeze. Once thawed, you can cover them with oil, store them in the fridge and use them within one week. I have also read that you can let them soak in warm water for thirty minutes or until soft  then pat them dry and use as directed in your recipe. Then you can even keep  the liquid to add flavor to stocks and sauces.

I also just made buttered toast, crushed up a dried tomato in my Mortar & Pestle , then sprinkled the toast with garlic powder and the crushed tomato. AMAZING!!