This earth is breathtakingly beautiful

We are blessed to live on a breathtakingly beautiful earth. Every which way you turn, in any which direction you look, the beauty of earth is stunning. And this earth is so generous, so giving that anywhere you look you find something delicious to savour, to nourish you with so much unconditional love. No matter who you are, no matter what you do, no matter what you think, the giving is the same for all to take. This earth is great!

We on the other hand, can sometimes act like spoilt little brats! Like a fussy child, tossing and breaking and taking for granted! Feeling entitled, as though we own earth, treating her as a slave, demanding she produces more, so we can waste more! Demanding that she does not rest, depleting and spraying our poisons on her and then wondering when it aches or just does not yield the way it once did! But she gives and continues to give and we take and continue to deplete and we complain and she watches… patiently, like a mother, waiting for her child to come of age and mature!

Thankfully more and more of us are seeing this and becoming more aware of our handmade problems. More and more of us are learning to appreciate, to be graceful, to give thanks and hold on and preserve the good things we are given. And refusing to take anything for granted.

This recipe is a showcase of appreciation. It is simple, celebrating that which earth has given us all these years, decades, centuries… Celebrating the holding on to (preservation) of this blessing in an expression of appreciation and gratitude. Celebrating life, the cycles and all they hold of wisdom from those before us and hopefully that which we will get to pass to those after us.

I am carrying out this recipe using an oven as opposed to sun drying, just in case you do not have access to an outdoors where you can lay your trays of tomatoes to dry in the sun.

Ingredients

1 KG organic tomatoes halved lengthwise

3 tbsp DS Premium Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

DS Pink Himalayan Salt to taste

Freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 90F. This is a very low temperature and if your oven does not support such low heat, then have on the lowest heat setting and keep its door slightly opened throughout the drying time of the tomatoes.

Line baking sheets with baking paper and set aside.

Half the tomatoes and place on the lined sheets. Drizzle all with olive oil (the best way to do this is to place the oil in a spray bottle and spray the tomatoes all over. Season all with the salt and black pepper.

Tip – You can also include herbs in the seasoning if you wish to have herbed dried tomatoes. Or you can add the herbs, fresh to the jar and make jars with different herbs and so different aromas.

Place the trays in the preheated oven and leave to dry for 2-3 hours. Make sure to check after 3 hours to see how dry the tomatoes are. The idea is to dehydrate the tomatoes, and not to cremate them!

Once done, remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Place the cooled tomatoes in airtight jars, adding herbs or without. Top with olive oil, making sure the oil covers all. Seal the jar and store in a cool dark place for up to 3 months.

Once opened, make sure to consume within 2 weeks and to keep all topped up and submerged in the oil.

 

Serving suggestions:

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