Monday, May 21, 2012

Caprese Salad


After pretty much two weeks straight of being sick I couldn't be happier to feel better. What was even better was having such a beautiful WARM sunny day. I would hug the weather if I could. 

The sun had me totally inspired for lunch so I whipped up my modified version of a fresh Caprese salad. I fly pretty loose with ingredients when I'm in the kitchen. If you'd like a fairly standard recipe for a Caprese salad there's a good one here. I dice all my ingredients because I love scooping it up with some warm garlic bread.

Caprese Salad Recipe

1 tomato per person
buffalo mozarella to taste
2 artichoke hearts
3 clove of garlics minced
salt to taste
a healthy pinch of dried oregano
2-3 tbsp of fresh fennel minced
2-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
 fresh basil to taste

Like I said before, I dice all ingredients to make it bread friendly. Mix it all in a bowl and enjoy. So simple. So tasty. 

What are some of your favorite warm weather foods?

20 comments:

  1. Glad you're feeling better! Hope it stays away now.

    This recipe looks delicious. Looking at it, I don't know if I have any good "summer" recipes. I feel like everything I make leans kind of heavy and "wintery."

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm glad you're feeling better! I totally love Caprese salad, but I never diced the ingredients ever! That's smart-- it's like a dip for big slices of yummy baguette! I myself LOVE a good pico de gallo with either peaches or mango in the mix!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am so glad that you are feeling better. It sucks being sick.

    I love caprese salad and I've always thought it should be chopped up. I mean, the look of the slice cheese and basil is nice and all, but I would rather just dig right in and not chop everything up. LOL I'm lazy that way, I guess.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh yum, I think I'd love this salad. It's kind of warm here all the time but I still definitely feel a change to the summer season as the days get longer. My favorite summer foods are local grown produce and fruit. I also love goat cheese from Maui on crackers with sundried tomatoes. Also sushi from a local place called Sansei or poke bowls (ahi poke on top of rice with furikake). Rose wine or prosecco/champagne cocktails with a berry taste.

    I'm glad you are feeling better.

    ReplyDelete
  5. rachel, this is perfection, thank you, slick idea, sort of like brushetta but BETTER, I love a classic caprese salad! YUMMO girl.

    ReplyDelete
  6. oooh, this salad sounds tasty. :) Glad you're feeling better!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great looking salad! :)
    My favorite warm weather foods often involve my grandpa's grill and lot's of cuttlefish!
    Glad to know u'r feeling better!;)
    Love,
    Diana

    ReplyDelete
  8. chillairandperfumeMay 22, 2012 at 4:46 PM

    Caprese salad is one of my favorites, but I've never made it at home. Thanks for sharing. YUM.


    xo,
    Hannah
    www.chillairandperfume.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ahhh I bet it's such a treat! I was out and about exploring today and passed a Portuguese grocer today and thought of you. If I ever get to visit it, I'll let you know what I find.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks. It was a really lovely light treat.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You totally caught me. I'm a little addicted to bruschetta. With a some antipasti type deli meats - it's a full on feast. So glad Nells is doing better!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow, I don't think I've tried cheese on crackers with sundried tomatos. Sounds like a great taste sensation and super simple. Pair that with the fact I'm really lazy and it sounds like a win-win situation for me. ;) I'm horrified that I never managed to have poke while I was in Hawaii. I hear about it all the time but I've got absolutely no taste reference and prosecco....yuuummm I've never met a prosecco I didn't like.

    ReplyDelete
  13. You and me both! I love this salad because it takes very little else paired with it to make it a full on feast really quick. Life is so much better if you're eating something that tastes great and its super simple to make.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ooooh I love pico de gallo. Last summer I think I made it almost every day. I also made my own salsa from scratch almost every day. When I first thought I was coming down with a bug, I made a mango salsa with some extra spice. It was so surprisingly good.

    ReplyDelete
  15. All I could keep thinking was how you'd mentioned your friend and her kid were passing theirs back and forth. Now my oldest has it and my 3rd one is sniffling. {face palm} lol. It's probably pretty silly but I try and eat foods that compliment the weather. It keeps me from being bored. That's why I can never move to the Arctic. That, and the fact that I hate being super cold. :D

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'll keep my fingers crossed it doesn't get back to you! I think at the ages of your kids, they should be able to be relatively easy to keep clean. My friend kept getting it because hers is only barely 2 and you can't really be purell-ing a baby's hands, lol (or can you?)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ok so I can't cook. Not like with ingredients and stuff :p So I go round to Rachel's house, and she feeds me. It's one of the most awesome things a friend could do in my book, feed me! :D x x x

    ReplyDelete
  18. Yaaaaay - so happy that you feel better and also the weather!!! 2 weeks sick is yuckee =( so the weather must be happy to see you feel better too.

    I've tried caprese before but it was okay - I really need to give it another try with your recipe above!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love caprese salad. It's such a great summer go to and relatively healthy too!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I. Am. Stealing this. La, la, la-la-la. Yeah, I totally sang that. But I am, just fyi. Favorite warm weather food of mine is pretty much anything with fresh tomato and basil on it! Couscous with fresh basil, tomato, avocado and balsmic vinegar. Salads with mango, peaches, oranges, etc. And, things like bruschetta! I wish I were in the UK so we could have a tapas-off! haha

    ReplyDelete