Tomaters

We used to have a garden. Our five children were small and we must have had a lot more energy. We planted outrageous amounts of seeds and plants. One year I think I planted two flats of tomato plants. Around the first of July it would just get too hot to hoe and the weeds would start to overtake the plants. It was like hide and go seek to find the cucumbers and beans and zucchini in the midst of all the green, yellow and brown leaves. But the red tomatoes just glowed! I could never convince the kids to let me wash them before eating them straight from the garden. I think they thought I would take them away from them!

This year I found a potted tomato plant on clearance in early June. I brought it home and placed by our front door (so that we would not forget to water it when we left for work each morning). We have now been rewarded with four small tomatoes and I decided to make a special treat with dinner last night.

Here are the tiny tomatoes waiting to see what happens next:

I began to slice them to start layering:

Do you like the sunlight on the counter? This was around 3:30 on a SUNNY Sunday afternoon. I am normally at work at this time. If I ever decide to become a "Lady of Leisure", I will have to invest in some blinds.

I started adding some slices of fresh mozzarella.

And it can only get better with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Gosh, this picture looks so good, I am ready to grab a fork!

Then, taking advantage of the sunlight - I let them rest on the counter and absorb some rays.

Meanwhile - I began to dice the remaining tomato pieces.

Then put them in a small canning jar:

I am copying from an idea from Susan Branch on her new blog at susanbranch.com. Unfortunately I did not have as many tomatoes as she had, nor all the fresh ingredients. Oh well, improvise!

 A generous sprinkle of dried herbs and a heaping teaspoon of garlic.

 Cover with Olive Oil.

And give it a little stir. Cover and let steep on the sunny window sill until dinner.

I swear I can hear the flavors from that jar calling out to me!  Below is a picture of a similar salad from last year on a pretty green glass plate I got in a box lot at an auction. 

Plan for the weekend: Find a Farmers Market!