Tomato Mozzarella Salad

It's getting to be summer, and aside from my baby blueberry bush, the one thing I must have in the garden is basil. Our favorite thing to do with fresh basil is make a quick salad of tomatoes, Mozzarella cheese, and Basil.

It's pretty simple, not even a formal recipe and you can scale it up or down to feed as many or as few people as you like.

1. Equal parts tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.
- We like chopped roma tomatoes or whole cherry or grape tomatoes
- I usually use fresh mozzarella balls in brine (from costco!), chop to approx. the size of the tomato pieces. Cubed manchego or gouda is also a good treat if you're in the mood for a different cheese.

2. Several sprigs of fresh basil, chopped
-again, to your taste. We like a lot of basil

3. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1.5 Tbsp/cup of tomatoes or so
-get a lightly flavored oil so it doesn't overpower the fresh ingredients

4. Balsamic Vinegar, 2 Tbsp/cup of tomatoes
-we use a Pomegranate flavored BV, but a good strong standard balsamic or another fruit flavor works well, too.

That's it.

Chop tomatoes and cheese to bite size pieces if necessary. Chop up basil leaves, removing stem pieces since they're not as nice to eat. Toss with oil and BV. Refrigerate before serving if desired or serve immediately.

If I have some on hand, I like to toss in a few small crostini just before serving for some crunch.

This is on the menu nearly every day in the summer, especially if the deer have avoided the tomato plants, and I have to fight my husband to even get any :)