One of my all Time Summertime Favorites ~ A Caprese Tower made with Tomato, Basil and fresh Mozarella

A few summers back I was down the shore just for the day with a good friend and my two kiddies. We decided to have lunch at this lovely restaurant called The Columns right across from the beach in the beautifully Victorian shore point known as Avon by the Sea NJ.. We went in bathing suit covers and all, but then again that is the attire of the sea shore! Anyway, we ordered up this appetizer called a Caprese Tower, and I have been recreating it  ever since.

Despite the fact that this week it is predicted that the northeast will be continuing the heat wave we've been in, our garden, although flourishing in all this heat, has yet to produc any tomatoes ripe enough to pick. Fortunately we are in the heartland of farm country here in central NJ and the roadsides are riddled with farm stands and markets with loads of fresh produce. So today I was out and about and stopped to grab a few tomatoes. 

All you need is a nice ripe tomato cut into about 1/2 inch thick slices. Do the same thing with a medium size ball of fresh mozzarella. Pour some olive oil on your serving plate and kind of roll the oil around. Then grab some large fresh basil leaves which have been rinsed and dried, and begin to stack your tower on the olive oil covered plate. Start with the mozzarella then add a tomato slice with one basil leaf between the tomato and cheese. Repeat two more times and finish by topping your tower with a pretty sprig of basil. Sprinkle with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. I also added some balsamic vinegar to the plate so I could swirl each bite of my tower through both oil and vinegar.

For me this truly is summertime on a plate! Enjoy!!!

XO

5 Ideas for Preparing your INCOMING Crop of Tomatoes

If you are anything like me, once those gorgeous fresh tomatoes start rolling off the vine in mass quantities, or if you simply have a hard time resisting to buy them at your local farmer's stand, it can become a little overwhelming trying to figure out what to do with all of them. Of course you can always jar or freeze them, but what other ways can you enjoy the freshness of an amazing summertime tomato plucked straight from the vine?

Well here are five of my all-time favorite recipe ideas from both 21 Rosemary Lane and TheBigGiantGoodBasket , for preparing this fantastic yet nutritious summer fruit. 

Starting from the left...

This tower can be a meal in itself, or served as a classy  pre-meal appeteeezer!

This Greek tomato  salad is a great side dish idea for any summer cookout!



Another appeteezer here...love the idea of pairing the creamy avocado with these sweet cherry tomatoes...Yum! So perfectly bite-size!



My tomato basil soup also contains a touch of Parmesan cheese. Just the right amount of comfort in this favorite comfort food.



And lastly the classic pairing of tomato, mozzarella cheese and basil tossed with a home creation of garlic infused olive oil.

All you need to do is click on the image of the recipe you'd like to check out, and you will be flown first class to that post. 

Super easy right?? And the recipes are super easy as well.

Good luck harvesting and enjoying those oh so juicy tomatoes!!

XO