Quick, fresh, tasty and lovely to look at.

Ingredients:
Provolone cheese, sliced
tomato, sliced
basil, fresh shredded
extra virgin olive oil
salt

Directions:
1. Arrange tomato and provolone on plate.
2. Drizzle with oil.
3. Lightly salt.
4. Top with basil.

Notes:
Options: omit oil, add fresh ground black pepper, add imported Italian prosciutto.
Check the label, but the imported Italian prosciutto tends to be legal.

I tend my basil plants all summer looking forward to this treat. Once made, the trick is to keep my six year old from eating it all before me.

Ingredients
2 cups basil leaves, tightly packed.
1 cup toasted pecans
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 cup freshly, finely grated asiago cheese (85 grams).
1/2 tsp salt

Preparation
1. Dry roast pecans in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes.
2. Cool completely.

Directions
1. Place all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth.

Notes
This recipe will double well and freezes well. Pine or other nuts can be substituted for toasted pecans. Parmesan can be substituted for asiago cheese. This is excellent on most any meat from steak to shrimp. Try it on the grill. Your non-SCD friends will love it on pasta too. Try it on eggs too.

Freezing
I make a large batch of this and freeze it in one quart zip bags. Put about a cup into a bag, lay it flat and squeeze out all the air you can. This will keep well in the freezer for months.

Video:
Buying fresh basil is expensive so I grow my own. The one trick I’ve been taught is to prune the basil regularly to encourage more leaves to grow. It works great! Removing the flowering parts forces the plant to put its energy into growing more leaves, giving you a big basil bush. And who wouldn’t want a big basil bush? See the video for a demo of pruning your basil.

For more of my videos, including higher quality versions, visit my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/eatingSCD

Ingredients:
1 qt home-canned tomatoes OR two pounds fresh, cored and peeled
1 cup rich yoghurt
1 tsp dried basil leaves, ground in your palms
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 Tbsp honey

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in blender and blend well.
2. Place in heavy-bottomed saucepan.
3. Bring to a boil then down to a simmer for 10 minutes. If you are starting from whole raw tomatoes, you may have to simmer a little longer. Let your senses guide you.
4. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.

Notes:
Cooking yoghurt will kill the bacteria so don’t consider the yoghurt in this recipe as a probiotic.

Got some grilled zucchini laying around? Cut into chunks and toss it in just long enough to get warm.

This can also be served with a bit of grated hard cheese like parmesan, or my favorite, asiago.

Do you like provolone? A slice is nice on top on this soup.