Seeing Red

!!!

The first tomatoes are almost ready!  They're very nearly perfect.  You may notice that the one on the left has some brown cracks near the stem.  That can happen when you over-prune the plant and cut back the leaves that protect the fruit from sunlight.  Oops.  It's harmless, just ugly.

I've already decided what I'm going to use the fruit for-  caprese salad!

Insalata Caprese

Ingredients:

• 2 tomatoes
• 8 oz of fresh mozzarella (the wet kind that comes shrink-wrapped)
• A handful of young basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• a pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Slice up the tomatoes and mozzarella approximately 1/4 inch thick
2. Chop up the basil thickly, removing all stems
3. Layer slices of tomato on top of slices of mozzarella with chopped basil on top.
4. Lightly drizzle the stacks with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt

Voila! Bon appetite!