Caprese salad

[puglogic]

So today's the day. The day I harvest the first ripe-ripe tomatoes of the year, and make caprese salad out of them (perfectly ripe tomato, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, olive oil, balsamic) I dream about this, literally, for nine months out of the year.

I'm so excited I can barely get through the work day.

But I know it's because I'm a food geek. (and a geek in general :~) )

Is there any dish that gets you this excited? What is it?

[Blackdog Lin]

I fried garden-fresh okra last night (given to us, as our garden burnt up in the drought/heat wave). It was so fresh-and-excellent tasting that it almost brought tears to my eyes. Really. Seriously good simply-prepared real food.

[iris lily]

pug, we had one Caprese salad (I didn't know that was the name) this year, but then the squirrels moved in and are taking all of our tomatoes, damned tree rats.

[puglogic]

Sacrilegious little tree rats.....how dare they!

[treehugger]

but then the squirrels moved in and are taking all of our tomatoes, damned tree rats.

You need to get a greyhound! Mandy has caught one squirrel and now we are pretty much squirrel free (sure, they are still around, but they stay in the trees or on top of the fence; they stay out of our yard).

As for tomatoes, I started my plants too late and they aren't fruiting yet. :(

Kara

[Gregg]

A BLT does the same thing to me, pug. Fresh, ripe heirloom tomatoes (mortgage lifters this go-round). Butter lettuce picked, rinsed and tossed in the fridge with the tomatoes just to get them all nice and cold. Sourdough bread with roasted red pepper from the bakery down the street. Bacon from my wife's uncle who cures all his own and slices it about 4x as thick as usual, fried up until it is just crispy. A little good aioli for the spread. For the pièce de résistance take one of those same heirloom tomatoes that is still green, slice it, dip it in tempura batter and fry it up. Put just a sprinkle of kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper on the tomato slices, stack all that on the very lightly toasted bread slices and slip off to heaven.

[Glo]

All winter I dream of eating fresh tomatoes straight out of the garden with a little salt. I'm there now and am in heaven! What's better than that?

[puglogic]

A BLT does the same thing to me, pug. Fresh, ripe heirloom tomatoes (mortgage lifters this go-round). Butter lettuce picked, rinsed and tossed in the fridge with the tomatoes just to get them all nice and cold. Sourdough bread with roasted red pepper from the bakery down the street. Bacon from my wife's uncle who cures all his own and slices it about 4x as thick as usual, fried up until it is just crispy. A little good aioli for the spread. For the pièce de résistance take one of those same heirloom tomatoes that is still green, slice it, dip it in tempura batter and fry it up. Put just a sprinkle of kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper on the tomato slices, stack all that on the very lightly toasted bread slices and slip off to heaven.

Gregg, I think I just drooled all over the keyboard. Off to get a rag....