If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know that I turn to Nora Roberts for comfort reading and comfort eating. There is a soothing formula to her trilogies. In times of crisis (hello, pandemic…) I know what I’m going to get and that her characters are never going to let me down.

The trilogies that I enjoy most feature food pretty prominently. There is almost always a member of the team who is either a professional cook or someone who cooks elaborately to think, relax, or strategize. This specific pasta comes from "Stars of Fortune" and is so simple to make that you could easily enjoy it any time the fancy strikes.

Full disclosure, in the book it’s penne and black olives, but I went with what I had and thought would be delicious. Please feel free to do the same. “Pasta with Tomatoes and Olives” is as open-ended a direction as you would like it to be.

Note: I used my air fryer’s dehydration setting to roast my tomatoes, but you could do them in the oven just as effectively. Or, buy a jar of sun dried. Or, use them fresh. There’s no wrong way to do this.