What's that smell?

Tomatoes w/ Fresh Mozzarella and Basil

I’m making apple pie today for my husband’s birthday, so I wanted to make something for lunch that didn’t require cooking. Even with the cool weather, the house gets HOT. Tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil is such a wonderful combination. If you have never had fresh mozzarella, you need to try it. Fresh is quite a different experience than the shredded, processed kind. I thought for a long time (before I started cooking) that mozzarella was a hard cheese. It is not. It is soft and comes in a ball. The texture is smooth and kind of silky. The taste is mild without the salty after taste you get with shredded. Mixed with the sweet tomatoes, peppery sweet basil, and the tangy balsamic vinegar, you experience this meal across your entire palate. Super simple, very flavorful. This recipe can be expanded or decreased as you need. I use less for a snack, more for a meal. I also cut the mozzarella pretty thick, you can cut thinner or cut the pieces in half, if you want less cheese (crazy, I know).

1 lg tomato -sliced

1 ball of fresh mozzarella - sliced

4-5 basil leaves - cut into ribbons

balsamic vinegar

Place tomato rounds on plate, top with mozzarella. Spread ribbons of basil evenly over each tomato. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.