You Say Tomato....

Today was a glorious day. The sun shone bright and warm, all traces of the blizzard that brought in the week had disappeared. A perfect day to be one with nature...or at least my yard and garden. Today was also the first 'garden sunburn' of the season. I wear my 'red-back' badge of honor proudly, for as of today, in this ridiculous Albertan town, SUMMER HAS ARRIVED!!!!!!!!!

To celebrate, I decided to make one of my favorite summer salads. Every bite engages all the senses and puts them into summer overdrive! Because I love this salad (which really can be eaten as a meal. Tonight we ate it a plenty, with a side of garlic toast.) and I love you, my faithful few, I bestow upon you.... the recipe *takes a grandiose bow*.

The Infamous Tomato Salad, Summer Style.

3 or 4 vine ripened, gorgeous and juicy tomatoes!

Fresh Mozzarella (soft, unripened cheese. You can buy a nice chunk at Costco, you can also find it in tubs- also called Bocconcini)

1/3 cup freshly chopped Basil (no dried spices here!)

1/3 cup thinly (paper thin) sliced Red Onion

2-3 tbl of good quality Balsamic Vinegar (eye ball it)

2-3 tbl of good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil (eye ball it)

Freshly ground coarse pepper and salt to taste

Slice tomatoes and mozzarella about 1/4" thick. Arrange in layers tomato, mozzarella, and thinly sliced onions on plate. Sprinkle freshly chopped basil over everything. Drizzle entire salad with vinegar and olive oil. Generously top with ground pepper and coarse salt.

EAT & ENJOY!

Note: Don't salt until the moment you are about to eat, as the salt will draw out all the water from the tomatoes and make everything a runny mess. The key ingredient to this salad is the freshest, ripest tomatoes that you can find. If they are not quite ripe enough, let them sit on a window sill until they look too good to eat.