Sun Dried Tomatoes – Packed with Flavor and Oh So Versatile!

One of my favourite flavors is that of the sun dried tomato.  So rich, concentrated and reminiscent, for me, of one of my equally favorite places, Sonoma County.

Easy to find 'as is'; often sold, for example, in recyclable plastic tubs at Whole Foods, they're ridiculously easy to rehydrate (soak in water- that's it), or use in their dried state by chopping up and throwing in to a soup,  a marinade or your spaghetti.. squash, that is!  (One caveat- if you opt to purchase the variety sold packed in oil, look out for a potentially high sodium content and skip that brand!)

Combine with some fresh basil and garlic and you're right there in a lovely Vineyard in Wine Country!

Not only do they suit our paleo version of pasta (spaghetti squash, as above), they work well with fish (as in the cedar plank Salmon recipe in my cookbook), chicken- tossed in with some Paleo Pesto, any meat, any salad… and a little goes a LONG way, as they literally burst with flavor.

If you have a food dehydrator, you can easily prep them yourself.

Add some to your best olive oil to make a delish infusion.

As I often suggest with cooking- play around and see what you come up  with.  Just adding some diced sun dried tomato in and of itself can change the complexity and depth of an entire dish!