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I am so happy you found us please stay tuned regularly for new recipes. We focus on food made without gluten, paleo, vegan and raw foods and sometimes dairy and egg free but mostly the focus is on scrumptious!


You carry all the ingredients to turn your existence to joy. Mix them, mix them. ~ Hafiz

September 8, 2010

Alecs tomatoes with lemon basil

Up to my ears in flour yesterday there was a knock at the door, the dogs started barking furiously as I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand, a girl can't answer the door covered in flour!

Standing there on my porch was Alec (a friend of Michael's from the theatre) with a bag of multi colored tomatoes and three giant bunched of the most beautiful basil I have ever seen. Lemon, Purple Thai and Genovese.

We passionately started discussing what could be done with some much basil, the ideal would be to find a way to use it all fresh but there was just too much. We decided the best thing to do would be do blend it in the cuisinart, with a little garlic and olive oil and freeze it in ice cube trays. As a result, we will have the beginning makings of beautiful pesto, pasta sauce, pizza and many other beautiful recipes throughout the winter right in the freezer.

What I  did do immediately however, is chop some of that fragrant lemon basil, squeeze some fresh lemon juice and drizzle some fresh olive oil over those beautiful tomatoes that were, as Alec mentioned on his way out, just one hour old.

I was instantly transported back to Italy where I was standing in the kitchen in the villa we had rented, high on a mountain side on a beautiful September afternoon, making exactly the same salad, feeling exactly the same bliss.

It was the second best tomato basil salad I have ever had. I even drank the left over juice from the bowl, thanks Alec.....


I also wanted to mention, that in all the years I lived in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and everywhere else, no one has ever shown up at my door for no reason with beautiful gifts like these. I love where we live and feel blessed to be here.

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