Yesterday after my weekly trip to the farmer’s market I unexpectedly reached total August nirvana. Forget Christmas, to me there’s no contest: August (and all the produce that comes with it) is the most wonderful time of the year.
You don’t even need recipes in August, all you need to do is get your hands on some fresh, locally-grown veggies and you’re good to go. This time of year, I pretty much eat the same thing over and over, and it’s a version of this salad. There’s no recipe for it, it’s really more of… a way of life. What you do is you take whatever beautiful produce you have, and you put it all in a bowl, and you eat it. And then you try not to die of happiness.
In this version: red and yellow cherry tomatoes, corn on the cob (boiled then cut off the ear), cucumber, red onion, basil, and a little quinoa just because I had some leftovers on hand. Then drizzle with olive oil, your vinegar of choice (I use a mixture of red wine and balsamic), salt and pepper. You can make a big batch and eat it till it’s gone–it’s great on its own, with feta or ricotta salata or goat cheese crumbled on top, alongside a protein, next to a hot dog, or with a good chunk of bread to soak up the juice. You really can’t go wrong.
Sigh.
Oh and can I tell you how much my new basil plant has changed my life? For some reason I’ve always been a slacker in the herb-growing department, but recently I picked up this basil plant and it’s been making me incredibly happy every day. As we all know, the laws of the universe dictate that if you buy fresh herbs in the grocery store, you’ll end up throwing 90% of them away before you can use them. So for that reason I only buy fresh herbs when I have a specific purpose for them, which means I don’t usually have basil in the house. But having this plant on hand and being able to pluck a leaf here and there has made such a difference in my summer salads. I don’t think I’ll ever be without a basil plant on my window sill again.
Fact: leprechauns make basil grow 10 times faster.
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If you have lots of fresh basil, you can make and freeze pistou for use during the winter! Freeze it in thin, small containers so you can break off a piece easily. Here’s the recipe I use:
http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2009/08/another-option-for-freezing-fresh-basil.html
Luv the little leprechaun! Where did you find him?
He was a freebie that came in a box of tea I got at the supermarket!! So random!