mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm PASTA (with special sauce)

this was inspired by mark bittman (the minimalist)

Serving Pasta? Forget What You Learned

and his Recipe: Pasta With Winter Squash and Tomatoes

i made a few changes based on MY likes and of course what i had on hand. if you make this in the summer you can use FRESH tomatoes of course

1 large can of tomatoes (whatever. they can be chopped or whole or whatever YOU like)

1 box of pomi tomatoes

1 T of balsamic vinegar

onion (I used a vidalia. chopped. however much YOU like)

1 large sweet potato shredded

1 cup of dried mushrooms and a few sun dried tomatoes (whatever. i used black trumpet, oyster, porcini and morels. OR you can use fresh if you have them. i didn't happen to. my sun dried tomatoes do NOT come packed in oil. they are in fact, just dry)

Olive Oil

herbs and spices dried or fresh (i used basil, sea salt, a few flakes of hot red pepper, just a TAD of freshly grated nutmeg, oregano)

a bay leaf or two

1 T of sugar (optional. use it if your tomatoes aren't sweet)

pasta of your choice

rinse off dried mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes. pour boiling water over them and let sit 20 minutes or so. in a bit of olive oil, saute chopped or diced or minced onion for a couple of minutes. toss in the shredded sweet potato and saute (stirring constantly so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot) a couple of minutes more. add the tomatoes and vinegar and stir. then add the bay leaves and herbs and spices. put mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes in with a bit of their liquid. (save the rest of the liquid. as your sauce cooks down, if it's too thick for you add more mushroom liquid). turn heat down and simmer anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, stirring on occasion.

cook pasta and top with sauce! there you have it AND VEGAN TOO