When I was a kid - we had a huge garden. It was like half the size of a football field - it was ridiculous. My "job" was to weed it - every day - all summer - for 10 years. God I hated that f'ing garden. Did I love the fresh tomatoes? Yes - but I hated weeding it.
Now - I'm 40(ish). I miss fresh tomatoes. So I have my own version of a garden. It's 3 pots - on my front step. Baby steps.
There's one pot with tomatoes - they're getting pretty big - and these two happy little pots with basil and cilantro. I'm pretty psyched that they started from these little pre-seeded pods for $1 each at Walmart. You stick them in a pot and water them. That's it. I figured if they didn't grow - I was only out a few bucks - but they grew! Look at that beautiful basil. It was so bright and pretty - I thought - well hell - now I need something to make with it!
I thought of Caprese Salad. It's so delicious and refreshing - and I thought - well hell - it's pretty easy to make too! Now, my tomatoes are nowhere near ready so I had to buy some at a store - but the basil got me well on the way.
This was so super simple - it's basil, tomato, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper - that's it. Layer the basil, tomato, mozz - then sprinkle with the rest. I thought - can it really be this easy? Why have I not done this before?
Well it was that easy. It was so easy - I did it again!
This time - my tomato wasn't as pretty and I was eating it alone - so I didn't need as much. I decided to cut everything in bite size pieces and make more of a salad out of it. Chop chop chop - sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle. Caprese salad - done. From pot on my porch to in my belly in about 5 minutes. And it's so beautiful - how can it not be good for you???
So here's the "recipe" - it's so simple - I can barely call it a recipe - but hey - if it gets you to make it for yourself - here you go!
Caprese Salad
* 1 tomato
* 1 ball of fresh mozzarella
* 5-10 leaves of fresh basil
* salt
* pepper
* olive oil
* balsamic vinegar
Slice your tomato and mozzarella. Alternately layer decoratively on a serving plate. Tuck the whole basil leaves in between the layers. Crack black pepper and salt generously over your dish (I like a lot of salt). Pour the olive oil into the cap and drizzle over the layered plate of goodness. Do that a couple of times. Pop open the Balsamic Vinegar and splash it over the top - as generous as you feel like.
You really can't go wrong. Go light on the Balsamic if you're new to using it - go heavy if you're addicted like me.
And be sure to post your beautiful pics to Instagram and tag me - I want to be reminded that I need to make it again. Tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day. And the next day after that.
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