If your garden yields a big tomato harvest, you can dehydrate the excess in the oven as directed and use them later in soups and stews. Store any you don't use in the freezer.

6 plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
sea salt
1 1/2 cups green lentils
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, mince
1 carrot, minced
1 celery stalk, minced
6 cups vegetable stock
1 lb. red new potatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
salt and ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place the tomatoes, cut sides up, on a rack set on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and place in the oven for about 2 hours. The tomatoes will dehydrate and intensify in flavor, but should still be a little soft. Remove from the oven and set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and saute until golden brown, 5-7 minutes. Add the stock, drained lentils, and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the lentils and potatoes are tender, 30-40 minutes. Add the reserved tomatoes and the rosemary and continue to simmer, stirring gently to retain the shape of the tomatoes, until the flavors have blended, about 15 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve hot.

Note: You can substitute 12 dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes in place of the oven-dried tomatoes. Soak them in 1 1/2 cups warm water for 15 minutes, drain, and proceed as instructed above.