Sun-dried tomato pasta sauce
Sun-dried tomatoes are, of course, one of God's greatest inventions. I discovered them in Cambridge, where I also first encountered pesto! Both ingredients have a tanginess that reminds me of half-ripe mangoes marinated in salt and dried in Mauritian sun. I suspect the best ones are the tomatoes dried under the Tuscan sun, but until I get there, the ones found marinated in olive oil in supermarkets do very well.

After I had a gorgeous, very simple pasta sauce last week at Cafe Mezzogiorno on Rue Notre-Dame, Old Montreal, I had one obsession: make that sauce in my kitchen. So, okay, I made it in someone else's kitchen, but it came out right! So here's how it was made:

2 fresh tomatoes, diced
10 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 small can of concentrated tomato paste with Italian herbs
5 garlic cloves, chopped (I went overboard with the garlic so you can put 3. I remove the little germ inside to reduce the smell.)
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

Stir-fry the garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over low heat. Don't let it burn.
Add the diced tomatoes to the garlic, stirring until it starts melting.
Add the tomato paste, basil and rosemary and mix well.
Stir in the pieces of sun-dried tomatoes, and add salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer for another 15 minutes or so, and you have it!

We ate it with spaghetti. A touch of Parmesan will add just enough Italianness :)

As you can see, I don't usually write recipes, so some of those terms might lack precision, but the taste is yummy. The best thing would be for you to add your personal touch to it and make it all yours!