Roasted tomatoes provençales

This is one of the great summer side dishes: easy, forgiving, delicious and incredibly good for you. It's good as leftovers, served hot or cold. I think it would even make less-great tomatoes taste amazing, so I actually plan on making it year-round. Andrew says that this is his favorite way to eat tomatoes. I first made it to go with a roasted chicken, and this weekend I pulled it out again to go with my coconut chicken. It's a colorful way to add more vegetables to your menu.

A lot of recipes are going around Pinterest these days for stuffed tomatoes with a kind of garlic or parmesan breading. This is the same idea, but way better because you still get all the tomato goodness and you aren't adding any soggy mush. You can mix it up by altering the herbs you use. Dried would be okay, but fresh from the garden is amazing. You can change the proportions and cooking time however you would like, depending on what else is in your oven at what temperature! One final note: cut the tomatoes in half by turning them upside down, so you go through the core. You won't cut through as many juice pockets, which means that they retain more juices while they cook. Plus, less mess!

Roasted tomatoes provençales
Finely chop two cloves of garlic and a teaspoon or two of other herbs--I use rosemary, thyme and basil. Cut six medium tomatoes in half and arrange them on a baking sheet. Drizzle some olive oil over each half, and top with the garlic-herb mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for half an hour.

Count on about one tomato per person--but of course, you will want your leftovers!