Some people queue up, foregoing sleep, warmth and comfort, for an iPhone; some others for a Star Wars film (I shall desist from adding the usual disdainful sniff that follows that particular topic), and yet others for catching a glimpse of the celebrity over whom the most fuss is being made these days.

And then there’s me, who spends a good part of every year, wringing my hands and pacing the floor and dancing around in little impatient jigs, waiting for tomatoes. I love tomatoes like some people love snow. Come to think of it, I love snow too, but I won’t be wanting some here anytime soon-I am content with the temperate weather, thank you very much. I mean, like the drawn out longing, followed by impatient anticipation, and finally, shrieking abandonment at the first sight of a snowflake, I too can barely contain my feelings for tomatoes.

Yes, yes, I am aware that I seem to be harboring feelings for a vegetable; but hey, it could be worse. Besides, I’m not the only one; people actually celebrate with the damn things!

I love tomatoes in everything: in pastas, salads, sandwiches, over a crusty piece of bread with nothing more than some olive oil & salt, atop a bagel slathered with cream cheese, in curries, in rice; the list is never ending. Come July, not a day goes by without a tomato (or a dozen) making its way into at least 2 of the 3 daily meals; raw, cooked, pureed, unripe, ripe, juiced, fried; no matter what its form, it’s in at least 1 dish.

Of these, my latest addiction is slow-roasted tomatoes. Before going into the nitty-gritty, I’d like to clarify that slow-roasted tomatoes (thank the Lord) have nothing whatsoever to do with the blasphemy that is ’sun-dried’ tomatoes (Sun-dried, sure; most of that stuff is about as sun-dried as I am an Olympic-level gymnast).

Slow-roasted tomatoes, are, as their name suggests, roasted slowly, without much adornment, in a regular oven. The process does take a long time-3 whole hours-but it is well worth the wait. There are no rules as to what sort of tomatoes must be used (save, perhaps, the exception of the heirloom variety); but grape, cherry and Roma seem to be the most common. My favorites are the grape and cherry varieties.

A simple idea, a simple recipe, but with mind-blowing results:-

Halve the tomatoes

Lay them over parchment paper on a baking sheet, along with a few cloves of garlic (with their peel intact)

Drizzle the halves with olive oil (just enough to make them glisten) and sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, and a couple of herbs (optional). Here, I’ve used dried thyme and fresh oregano.

Bake, for 3 hours, in an oven preheated at 225°F.

Enjoy atop bagels with cream cheese,

as a picker-upper for pasta or just on their own.

Store them in a jar with extra olive oil and herbs for a terrific, ready-made condiment.