Sweet basil, tomatoes great topping for pasta

 Steve was craving spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner. Of course, the meat sauce didn't appeal to me. The spaghetti, however, did.

 While, I'll cook what he likes; for myself, I like fresher food. So I set off to make my own topping for the pasta. While his sauce was cooking, I fidgeted around the kitchen and cobbled together something simple for me that was so tasty, I wouldn't trade it for any sauce at all. Light and tasty this has all the flavor and fewer calories than traditional...even meatless...sauces.

 My favorite snack is tomatoes and basil with smoked cheese. I figured I could adapt that quickly and so I did.

 And so, dinner was ready in little more time than it takes to boil pasta. If it had taken longer it would certainly have been worth the wait.

Tomato-Basil Spaghetti

12 ounces of spaghetti
1/4 cup of  olive oil
2 tablespoons of lemon juice (fresh squeezed, if you have it)
2 cups of fresh basil, chopped
3 cups of chopped tomatoes (canned, no salt added tomatoes would work just as well)
3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh basil leaves for garnish

• Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and toss with olive oil and lemon juice.
• Cool to room temperature, occasionally stirring the pasta to coat thoroughly.
• Add chopped basil, tomatoes, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste to the pasta.
• Mix thoroughly but gently.
• Garnish with fresh basil leaves if you want to impress someone.

Vegetarian (but can be vegan with the substitution of soy cheese)