Recipie for the week

So, the secret reason for having a garden. What makes it worth all the work and money to plant and tend... is Liz’s Garden Fresh Tomato Salad. It is the simplest recipe in the world, and for the life of me I cannot duplicate it. Liz is just a master when it comes to salad dressings.

Basically you take garden fresh tomatoes (as in “pick and bring into the kitchen” fresh), slice them and place them on a platter. Then in a small jelly jar, chop about a half cup of fresh basil or other herbs of your choice (also preferably picked within 5 minutes of serving). Half cover the herbs with olive or walnut oil, then add balsamic vinegar until the herbs are covered. This is where it gets tricky... somehow convince the oil and vinegar to mix, without using anything to stir (which might cause the herbs to wilt too much). A pinch of sugar here is optional... and probably necessary if you’re using store bought tomatoes.

Then pour the dressing on the tomatoes, being sure to spread out the herbs, and serve. It takes all of five minutes to make, plus the three months required to get the ingredients, of course.

Even if Tomatoes are not your very favorite food (I couldn’t stand them at all until college), the mix of the balsamic and the basil and the tomato in this is just heavenly. I recommend yellow tomatoes if you can get them.

This, of course, also satisfies the WW guideline of having healthy oils. It works out to quite a few points per serving, what with the oil, but they are healthy points.