Caprese Salad and The Town Parade

Today was the fourth of July parade. Our seats were at the unofficial official judges house who by the way really knows how to throw a party. The streets were lined with wall to wall people. The sun was out, the wind was blowing and you could feel the excitement in the air.

The parade started out with the umbrella marchers and ended with the towns’ fire truck. My favorite is the jellyfish. Every year there is something new. This year it was a wedding cake, not sure if the bride and groom were real or not as there was a big wedding in town 2 days ago.

For one of the get-togethers I made this caprese salad. I used four different kinds of tomatoes as you can see in the picture above. Cherokee purple are the two in the front. Not sure about the others, but what I can say is that there is nothing like a summer tomato. Fresh basil and mozzarella were added along with the romaine and red sail lettuces from my garden. I finished the salad with a balsamic fig vinaigrette and it was delicious. Check out this fresh and seasonal showstopper.

Ingredients:

1 small head romaine lettuce (cut into large ribbons)
1 head red sail lettuce (cut into large ribbons)
2 pounds tomatoes (slice different ways, depending on the size and shape)
8 ounces fresh mozzarella (little rounds balls) (cut in half)
¼ cup fresh basil (cut into small ribbons)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
¼ teaspoon dried mustard
1 teaspoon honey
Salt and pepper to taste

To prepare:

Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, honey and salt and pepper, mix well. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary. ***I mixed mine in a small ball jar, easy to shake and serve***

Place lettuce into serving bowl, add tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. ***I served this dressing on the side so everyone could add their own***