I hate weeding. The thought of it makes my back hurt, my legs numb, and I am immediately a little grumpier. Crouching down and repeatedly pulling little plants out of their happy dirt homes, as the sun's rays drill into your back. Oh I hate weeding. I repeat this to myself every night as I sit in our beautiful new apartment and tell myself that I don't need a garden. Who needs fresh, home-grown tomatoes, rhubarb, apples, pears and plums? Ok, fine. I do. Well, thank god for the farmers' markets.
Lunch every Thursday is the same: I run downstairs and out to the farmers' market that is held outside our office. I am that person in the elevator sighing as it stops at each floor to pick up more people. To accuse me of being impatient on Thursdays would be polite.
Today I picked up a basket of organic heirloom tomatoes. Beautiful pumpkin-shaped tomatoes, marbled in orange and red, smelling of fresh tomato vines and summer days in the garden. These tomatoes were purchased with one purpose in mind: Caprese. That fantastic Italian salad of fresh sliced tomatoes, each topped with a chunk of even fresher mozzarella and shredded basil, drizzled with my favorite balsamic vinegar and olive oil and sprinkled with fresh sea salt. The perfect dinner for these gorgeous sunny, 80 degree days that remind me of why I live in Los Angeles.
Needless to say, I am a much happier and more pleasant girl on the elevator ride back up to the office...on Thursdays.
Caprese
(my own recipe)
3-4 Garden Fresh Tomatoes
2-3 Fresh Bocconcini (fresh balls of mozzarella)
1 bunch Basil, chiffonade
Good-quality Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
Slice the tomatoes into about 1/4 inch rounds. Arrange on a plate. Top each slice with some mozzarella. Sprinkle with basil. Drizzle balsamic and olive oil over everything. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
Carefully arrange and eat so that each bite includes a bit of everything. Try to wait until after swallowing before closing your eyes and sighing.
2 comments:
Hi, Kristy,
Loved your caprese story--we will have copious tomatoes this year, so think about maybe our idea of canning together? Do you think that would work out? Daddy's tomato plants are now 8' tall--don't know what he did, but we will have TOMATOES!!
Your recipe and description of the caprese made my mouth water! And that's after a big dinner at Ruth Chris' tonight--it was fabulous.
I love you, Mom
PS--what is chiffonade? :)
I think the idea of canning the tomatoes is wonderful. I'll send you a few recipes for tomato confit and such. Chiffonade is a decorative way of cutting leafy herbs. You pull the leaves from the stems and stack them into one neat pile. Starting at the short end, roll up the pile. Then slice horizontally to make little ribbons of herbs. We love doing this especially to basil.
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