mizChartreuse || redefiningSuccess

I can cook, but I don’t particularly enjoy doing it all the time. It’s not necessarily because I’m terrible at it, but there are people who just do it better! Or maybe I’m just lazy and like people to cook things for me.

Aside from cooking classic breakfast fare, though, I do love to make salads. This past weekend Sean and I visited his longtime friends, Fred and Tanja, out in Sterling, IL. You may remember Tanja’s HILARIOUS Irish mother, Helene, whom I wrote about months ago in my “Wine Wine Wine Cigarettes Cigarettes Cigarettes” story.

When I heard Fred and Tanj live out near the border of Iowa on a farm, I was like, “Wow. A farm. Really. I could never do that.” Then we went out there and I was shocked at how lovely their place is! Their large two-story house is beautiful, and they have a barn/stable about 100 feet away where two gorgeous horses and nine outdoor cats live. They also have a huge pool in their backyard, and since they live on five acres of land, they can walk all around their house/yard/farm/barn naked, because they can. Sweet.

Oregano, lemon basil, parsley, cilantro, y basil.

Their produce is great, too! When we were getting ready to leave Sunday afternoon, Tanja and Fred gave us a bunch of herbs and veggies from their farm–huge cucumbers, assorted peppers, fresh basil, oregano, lemon basil (which smells incredible), parsley, cilantro…the works. I had a huge paper shopping bag filled with fresh green goodness.

Some of the herbs I’m keeping fresh, some I’m drying out, and ALL WILL BE CONSUMED. Delicious amazingness.

Basil. I LOVE BASIL.

MMM. BASIL.

And traditional Italian caprese salads (you can also use the same ingredients to make sandwiches) are my favorite things to make with fresh basil: it’s filling and so easy to make for the kitchen-impaired like myself.

Insalata Caprese

Sure, you could use any old tomato, the basil that comes in those flat packages, and some cheap balsamic vinaigrette, but the fresher and better the ingredients you use, the exponentially fabulous this salad gets. And as I said, it’s surprisingly filling, so you don’t need much of each ingredient.

Ingredients:
Fresh vine-ripened tomatoes
Fresh sun-grown basil leaves
Fresh mozzarella (I like the kind stored in water the best)
Extra virgin olive oil
Dash of salt and pepper

You can also add a nice balsamic vinegar of modena, but the traditional recipe only uses EVOO. I prefer to use large vine tomatoes and ovolini (egg-sized) mozzarella balls, but if you only have cherry tomatoes at your disposal, you can use the ciliegine (cherry-sized) mozzarella balls so no flavor overpowers another. For the smaller tomatoes and mozzarella, I suggest tearing up the basil, and for the larger ones, I leave the basil leaves whole.

Directions:
Very simple. Arrange basil leaves on plate. Slice the mozzarella and tomatoes, and place them respectively on top of each leaf. Grind some fresh sea salt and ground pepper over the entire thing, and dress with EVOO.

For a heartier salad that serves more people, you can also alternate the tomato, mozzarella and basil, overlapping them in a circle on the dish (and just use more of each ingredient).

Easy. Healthy. You can also use these ingredients for a fresh sandwich.

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Have you made Insalata Caprese before? Any special tips or techniques out there? What’s your favorite easy salad to make? Do you have a garden or farm and grow your own produce?