Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Have you ever had slow-roasted tomatoes?

They're like little morsels of concentrated, sweet, beautiful tomato goodness.

Slice the tomatoes in half and put them cut-side up, drizzle them with the tiniest bit of extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper (sometimes I do paper-thin slices of shallot, too), and roast in a 250 degree oven for like 3 hours. They should look shriveled like raisins but still plump and juicy.

They're delicious anywhere you'd use sundried tomatoes (these are better), by themselves, on skewers with basil and mozz, with garlicky olive oil over pasta, on crostini, in salads (especially a bean salad, yum). They're good on everything, seriously.

And you can store them in the fridge in a jar covered in olive oil.

Black Bean Burgers

Black Bean Burgers
From averyhappymama via allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 egg
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs

If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.
In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.