In the last month, I have traveled from Mississippi to North Carolina, to Maryland, to Michigan, to Chicago, back to Mississippi then to Florida. For the majority of the trips, we had beautiful sunny weather. Now, I'm sitting at the airport, ready to head home again, hoping our flight takes off before Tropical Storm Debby decides to keep us grounded.
When we initially headed out of town, my tomatoes were just starting to bloom. I left them in the trusty hands of my sweet neighbor, and a week into our trip she texted me pictures of a few of the tomatoes she just picked from my plant. This was the first time I had grown any sort of a garden, so although I was super envious I wasn't there to eat them, I was still so ecstatic to see the harvest!
I was home for a few days last week, which gave me a chance to actually taste the tomatoes. If you follow me on Facebook, you may have contributed in a couple ideas of what I should do with these tomatoes. Out of your suggestions, I decided to roast them in my oven with some garlic cloves, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. It was outstanding. I threw them into some eggs for a breakfast of champions.
Another way to use fresh tomatoes? Try this Caprese stack. It's a fancied up version of a Caprese salad, but by display only and not by adding any swanky ingredients. I got this idea from my brother-in-law's rehearsal dinner about 5 years ago. Simply slice the tomatoes and Mozzarella, stack them with some fresh basil and drizzle with the dressing. People will ask you how you did it... then you just lie and say it was extremely difficult and takes a lot of skill and artistic talent. 😉
Caprese Stack
Ingredients
- Fresh Mozzarella , sliced
- Balsamic vinegar
- Olive Oil
- Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Tomatoes , seeded and sliced ¼- to ½-inch thick
- Fresh basil leaves
Instructions
For one stack (1 serving):
- Place a slice of Mozzarella on a serving plate and drizzle with a small amount of the vinegar and oil, then a small sprinkling of salt and pepper. Layer with a slice of tomato, then a basil leaf, then two more tomato slices. Top with one more slice of Mozzarella and then another fresh basil leaf. Drizzle with more vinegar and oil, to taste. Season with a little more salt and pepper.
- Note: I found it easiest to provide you with directions for one, but you can make as many stacks as you like by using more of the ingredients and repeating with separate stacks.
