Celebrate tomatoes

It's tomato time in the garden, but darned if they aren't three weeks late.

At William Dam Seeds (www.damseeds.com) in Dundas, Connie Dam has seen tomato trends come and go, but this year it doesn't matter if you're growing beefsteak or cherry tomatoes, they are reluctant to ripen.

"We have all kinds of tomatoes growing in trial beds here, but they're all behind schedule. It's the cold, the damp, the lack of sun," she says.

But on a recent visit to Chef James McGuigan's house in Hamilton, the sun is out, and there are just enough ripe tomatoes to make a feast for this visitor.

McGuigan works for Compton and Greenland Catering at the Royal Botanical Gardens. But even after a long day at the Rock or Rose Garden Tea House, he'll go home and orchestrate a gourmet meal for his family or friends.

His love is Italian cooking, and he has dedicated much of his small backyard to growing tomatoes and herbs. There is sage, basil, chives, parsley and marjoram. A row of garlic is wedged in before the terrain is given over to tomatoes, Roma, San Marzano and beefsteak.

"What you need is lots of sun, well drained soil and maybe a little Miracle Gro," McGuigan says; as he checks perfectly plump cherry tomatoes in his garden.

From a section of garden that is no bigger than a couple of card tables, he harvests enough tomatoes to indulge his passion.

He has been up since 6 a.m. this day and has prepared Tuscan bread, which he will toast and top with his own sun-dried tomatoes, chevre cheese and basil. His homemade pasta will be turned into ravioli with ricotta and mint, and topped with his fresh tomato sauce. After scouring his favorite magazine La Cucina Italiana he will finish the meal with a mixed berry Napolean with chocolate and Devon cream.

"I love this time of the year, when everything is so fresh, the berries, the peaches, the tomatoes. Some people spend money on cars and houses, I spend money on food."

As one of ten children growing up in Scotland, times were lean, but once the family moved to Hamilton, his lifelong passion for food and cooking started.

"My best friend was Italian, I would go over everyday after school and learn to cook with his mother," says McGuigan.

Now his own kitchen is stocked with luscious ingredients, the best arborio rice, sea salt, Italian plum tomatoes, in the oven are clay tiles to bake bread and crisp pizza crust and of course cookbooks, many of them.

"I have seven books by Giuliano Bugialli. A Taste of Italy is great for techniques and The Fine Art of Italian Cooking is so good for recipes," says McGuigan.

There are recipes and then there is just plain sensible advice. Anyone who has grown a herb garden knows overproduction is a problem. Too much parsley, oregano in abundance, sage in surplus.

"I use sage for pork roasts, with veal and Tuscan meat sauces," says McGuigan. " I also sauté it in butter or olive oil until it's crisp, then drain it on paper towels, it's delicious."

For tomato sauces, McGuigan chooses Roma tomatoes from his garden, because beefsteak are too watery. "After I cook the sauce, I put it through a food mill (available at hardware stores and kitchen stores), it separates the skin and seeds from the sauce and thickens it."

As he talks, a pot of water boils on the kitchen stove for the pasta. McGuigan adds a generous splash of sea salt, and then sticks his finger in the boiling water to taste if it is salty enough. "You have to be able to taste the salt, pasta is bland, the salt brings out the flavour in the dish."

And the flavour from the garden. It's agreed that a kitchen with fresh tomatoes and herbs, a bottle of olive oil and wedge of Parmesan cheese is capable of producing a meal that captures the essence of summer.

Chef James McGuigan's Sun-Dried Tomatoes

3 lbs Roma or San Marzano tomatoes

• Cut tomatoes in half and put cut side up on baking sheet
• Sprinkle with salt
• Bake in 200 degree oven for 3-4 hours until slightly dried out. Don't dry completely or tomatoes will be like leather.
• Let cool on rack
• Add to sterilized mason jars and top with olive oil to one inch above tomatoes

Will keep in refrigerator for two months.

Bruschetta with Sun-Dried Tomato and Chevre Cheese

• Cut Italian bread into 1/2 inch slices and toast in 350-degree oven until golden.
• Remove from oven and rub with cut garlic clove
• Top with sun-dried tomatoes
• Add crumbled Chevre (goat) cheese and fresh chopped basil, salt and pepper
• Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve.