After several enjoyable weeks of cool weather with sufficient rain, in which we did nothing remarkable, it is Hochsummer. Iowa temperatures, with additional hours of sunlight, and no air-conditioning. If anybody needs me, I’ll be flopped in front of an oscillating fan in a darkened room, sipping tap water with a twist of lime until the next cold front brings us thunderstorms and reasonableness…
But first, let me brag about my summer harvest. I grow a tomato plant on our balcony every year. Local professionals sell very tasty normal tomatoes for reasonable rates at the weekly market, so I grow something a little abnormal. This year I chose a Johannisbeertomate, cultivated from a wild tomato of Peru. The label promised “kleinste Tomaten der Welt“–the smallest tomatoes in the world.
They weren’t kidding!
Anyway, what is one to do with a massive fresh tomato harvest when it’s too hot to make bacon or even toast? Very simple: Insalata Caprese.
Place a suitably-sized mozzarella ball into a dish, add the tomatoes, drizzle some nice olive oil, and garnish with some cracked pepper and a few basil leaves. Don’t forget a sprinkle of salt to keep your electrolytes balanced in the heat.
