Recipe from the Garden: Caprese Salad

Every year at this time of the year Brian and I practically live off of Caprese Salad. I love using the tomatoes and basil from the garden for this simple dish. We often have a baked potato and fresh, local corn on the cob to go with this salad. I think it’s the healthiest meal I can get him to eat! The key to this dish is high quality ingredients.

Caprese Salad

Ingredients
• sliced tomatoes
• sliced fresh mozzarella
• fresh basil, either chopped or cut into pieces with scissors ( I prefer using scissors because they don’t “bruise” the basil as much as chopping sometimes does.)
• really good extra virgin olive oil
• really good balsamic vinegar (optional)
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions
• Sprinkle salt and pepper on the sliced tomatoes.
• Pour a little bit of the extra virgin olive oil and a tad of the balsamic vinegar on each slice.
• Add the chopped basil.
• Top each tomato slice with a slice of mozzarella.

Caprese Salad.

The Flower Garden in July

Well, I’m a few weeks late posting this since it’s not July anymore, but at least I finally got around to it. My web class ends tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll have more time for my blog after that. Here are some photos I took (with my 17-85 lens that I FINALLY sent in for repairs – WAHOO!) in July.

Despite the “oppressive” heat in July, with heatwave after heatwave, some things did ok in the garden — although I really don’t think they lasted as long as they normally do. The monarda Raspberry Wine, the purple coneflowers, and the white phlox David were the highlights of the July garden. In fact, I think my phlox looked bigger and fuller than ever this year.

Monarda Raspberry Wine, white Phlox David, Purple Coneflowers.

Here’s the phlox David.  It will sometimes get powdery mildew, even though it is VERY resistant to it compared to other phlox. This year no powdery mildew, though. It’s still looking full and lovely, although the leaves are starting to wilt more from all of the heat.

Phlox David.

Here’s a different angle with the purple coneflowers and phlox, with a butterfly bush in the background and catmint in the foreground.

Coneflowers, Phlox, Butterfly Bush, Catmint

The catmint is an incredibly reliable performer every year. And those little white butterflies are going especially gah-gah over it this year. The bees and butterflies always love it, but this year it seems like I have a swarm of white butterflies around it all the time.

Cabbage butterflies on the Catmint.

I have two different tall lilies and I seem to get them both confused. I think this one is called Black Beauty. It IS a beauty.

Black Beauty lily.

This white hydrangea has really been big and full this year. This is a different variety than the other ones in the flower garden and hasn’t developed that problem the others have with turning black and crispy, thank goodness.

Hydrangea.

Here is that same hydrangea, plus another variety of hydrangea, and black eyed susan. My black eyed susan, purple coneflowers and daisies all are in need of digging some out and giving to friends. They are starting to take over.

Hydrangeas and black eyed susan.

A close-up of the hydrangea and black eyed susan.

Hydrangea and black eyed susan.

Brian’s hops are threatening to take over the one side of our shed/workshop. Maybe he’ll actually try to use them in his beer this year (he’s a homebrewer). This is the only thing in the garden that belongs to Brian!

Hop vine.

Here’s a view of the flower garden as seen from the back of the back yard looking towards the front.

The flower garden.

Let’s hope it doesn’t take me so long to do my next post. We shall see.