Today, as I strolled the produce section at ShopRite, the aroma of fresh basil followed me down the aisles. In a split second, that fragrance transported me back to summer, as I remembered clipping basil from my plant on the back porch. I followed my nose and quickly found small hydroponic basil plants. I hadn’t planned to buy fresh basil, but I just had to have it.

As I finished my shopping, images of bruschetta were dancing in my head. I envisioned diced ripe tomatoes (unfortunately, the winter variety), olive oil, garlic and the aromatic basil piled high on toasted Italian bread.

Now that  I’m home, I have planned my entire dinner around this wonderful simple ingredient. We’ll start with bruschetta, followed by the chicken with olives and tomatoes that I wrote about a few weeks ago. And for just an evening, we’ll pretend we’re enjoying dinner on a warm summer evening in July instead of a frosty winter night.

Long live summer!