Let’s talk about Caprese salads. I truly think there are few flavor combinations together that rival the simplicity of fresh-from-the-vine tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese (Buffalo preferably), a splash of Italian olive oil, and some reduced balsamic vinaigrette. Add that last tiny touch of sea salt, and, KawPow! Taste Bud Heaven!
I made this little salad from Draper Farms tomatoes, bocconcini mozzarella, and a basil plant I purchased from a little pop-up farm stand that doesn’t have a name. Also, the basil plant won’t have a long life with me, as I will do with it what I do with all plants, immediately kill it, accidentally, of course.
The olive oil is direct from Italy via Fratelli Ponzi, 100% extra virgin. You can buy it in Dundee, Oregon.
What is it about food? It is so life-giving, refreshing, flavorful. It can be so peaceful. It can calm the heart, rest the soul.
Don’t even get me started on the symphony of music that comes from dining out at a restaurant. The forks on plates mixed with laughter, and conversation mixed with music wafting in the distance…we will come back to another post for this…
Recently I was scrolling around on my website and clicking links here and there, and the past jumped off the page when I opened my old blog, Beautiful Food. In 2008, February to be exact, my birthday to be exact, I started this website. It was long before words like, “monetizing your site” were mainstream, and a solid two and a half years before Instagram started. It was before everyone at the table was taking photos of their dishes. By 2013 I had apparently lured in 26,000 views. Something I most certainly wasn’t thinking about then and didn’t give a thought why those might matter. And, today, in 2021, I’m constantly reminding myself, they really still don’t matter in the big picture. What does have value to me is the art of food, the taste of food, the experiences surrounding food. That hasn’t changed.
It was fun to see that my second post featured, you guessed it, a Caprese salad! I stand firmly by my oath that I’ve never met a Caprese salad I didn’t like. One time I almost started an entire website focused just on Caprese salads, but then I thought, that would be weird, and let’s be honest, they will all start looking exactly the same.
Perhaps I may just dust off the cobwebs of Beautiful Food and post over there again, for fun. The idea behind it has always been; no words, just photos, because great art doesn’t always hang on walls.
