good smelling stuff . . .

well, maybe not for all but I love the smell of fresh basil and garlic, I can still smell it on my fingers and the aroma is slowly wafting its way through the house. Happy, happy. Oh, and its for dinner tonight . . . has to be made early in the morning. A cold garlic, basil, tomato, olive oil topping served over warm pasta with stick bread. Yummy. Thanks Judy for reminding me I had the recipe!

Which also reminds me. Am I mad (as in insane, not angry, well maybe a bit of both)? Tomatoes these day are sadly a shadow of their former selves. As a kid, I grew up in northern New Jersey which at the time was mostly apple orchards, fruit farms, hidden lakes, deep woods, wandering brooks . . . a glorious place to be a kid. We would hop into the old station wagon and head for one of our favorite farms. You paid a dime or quarter, depending on the size of the basket and headed out to pick your own veggies. The tomatoes were red, firm, plump and juicy and the first thing we dove into when we got home. Armed with a salt shaker, we'd head out to the back deck, and leaning over the edge, we'd take the first big delicious bite, add a little salt and take another bigger bite, juice and seeds running down our arms. Heaven. Not so now. Grocery store tomatoes seem pulpy and tasteless. Is it true or just my mind remembering larger than life? Not to worry though, infused with the other ingredients, this recipe is still joy for the taste buds. And I get a whole day to inhale the goodness.