This has to be one of my new favorite summer salads.
July is here and the local farmers markets are bursting with fresh produce. I LOVE fresh produce. It reminds me honestly of my Dad. He was always out in the garden growing something vibrant delicious and beautiful. Fresh tomatoes were his favorite. I still remember him pulling them from the vine and sitting on a garden bench and just eating them whole!
My dad was organic before organic was cool.
Happy Summer Eating friends!
Ingredients:
Ripe heirloom tomatoes
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (I buy mine from Costco. They are two to a package and are already sliced!)
Reduced balsamic vinegar (recipe below)
Olive oil
Fresh herbs: basil, oregano, thyme. Anything fresh from the farmers market!
Capers if you like that kind of thing!
A rustic baguette
Preparation:
Slice the tomatoes and arrange them on a platter with the cheese and herbs.
Serve with the olive oil, vinegar, and bread on the side.
Simple Balsamic Reduction
Simple Idea:Don’t spend extra on expensive Balsamic. Just buy and inexpensive bottle and follow this simple recipe.You can’t believe how delicious this is!
1 pint balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 bay leaf
One of the following
4 whole cloves
fresh rosemary, a tender branch with lots of needles
fresh thyme, several small sprigs with lots of needles
Pour the balsamic vinegar into a heavy bottomed saucepan and place over moderate heat. Stir in the honey, drop in the bay leaves and optional cloves or herbs and bring to a low boil. Adjust the heat to maintain a steady simmer and allow the vinegar to reduce slowly. After a half hour or so, when it has lost more than half of its original volume, the vinegar will start to appear syrupy the consistency of honey.
Simpler idea: Grab a bottle of the cheap stuff and just boil it down. Simple and DIVINE! You’ll find yourself pouring it over everything including raspberries (and ice cream of course).
Sunday night dinner on the deck with my dearest friend Lynn and her Ashley!
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