come on in. pull up a chair and have some lunch.

Recently, I did something that I never do.  I went to Barnes and Noble, skipped getting coffee (I never do that), scurried past the classics in a tizzy (I never do that), I absolutely ignored the journals (doesn't happen much), and picked up the March 2011 edition of Martha Stewart Living.

You see, my microwaved mac-and-cheese for dinner days are numbered. I have 147 left to be exact. This July, I'll marry the love of my life and join the ranks of housewives everywhere.  The only real dilemma is that my my college years didn't exactly allow the time to properly develop my cooking, cleaning, decorating, gardening, and all other housewifey skills. So, why not head straight to the experts, right? WRONG! As I flipped through the pages I found that most of the ideas, though they were oh-so-tempting, were completely unrealistic.  I am not going to move to a restored Southern plantation and grow an award winning colonial garden, I am not going to spend $2,500 on this bookcase even though I desperately want it, and I am not going to ever make Jason Sausage, Chard, and Lemon Lasagna for supper.  So, I am just going to have to decipher this whole domestic thing without Martha.  Here's my first shot at it... Drumroll please!   

Fresh tomatoes, juicy cucumbers, thick chunks of fresh mozzarella. Yes, please! This quick salad makes a great lunch or a yummy side dish, and takes only minutes to make.  I ate it pretty regularly in college simply because I could whip it up between my afternoon classes.  I adapted it from a caprese salad that I spent an afternoon with in Rome. 

Tomato Cucumber Salad

Ingredients: 
2 roma tomato
1 cucumber
8 oz. fresh mozzarella
2 tsp. basil
4 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Prep Time: 10 minutes 
Yields: 2 Servings 

Chop tomato, cucumber, and moz into bite-size pieces.  Place chunks in a small bowl.  

Sprinkle basil over your veggie-cheese mixture.  Stir gently.

Drizzle salad with olive oil.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Drift off to southern Italy as you enjoy each fresh, tasty mouthful.

This is the savory version. For a tangy twist, mix 2 teaspoons olive oil with 1 teaspoon balsamic vinaigrette. Add a teaspoon of honey and pour over salad in place of the olive oil. Delicious. 

Comments

[Mimi]

Love the post Heather! I can't wait to try this during the summer. Although I think I might need to add some meat to it to satisfy David and Isaac =) Can't wait to see what else you have to offer in the upcoming days!