Garden Fresh Caprese Salad

Warm tomatoes, fresh off the vine, served with Mozzarella cheese, basil, and balsamic glaze, makes the perfect Garden Fresh Caprese Salad!

Friends, I’m truly missing our beautiful crocosmia bulbs, that I know are blooming in our front and back yards at home right now. So when I went to my new favorite store in Bend, Newport Avenue Market, and saw 2 bunches of these beauties, I just had to have a pop of red on our fireplace!

They are very pretty in flower arrangements, and a perfect reminder of my friend Jeannie, who transferred several bunches (dirt and all) from her yard to our yard, many years ago.

I love how certain blooms bring back different memories!

I’m also so in love with caprese salad for summer, that I could eat it every day!

Let’s talk garden tomatoes, warm off the vine. So imperfect in every way. I loved our garden back home, because of that fact that nothing was perfect. I remember a friend coming over and pointing out the weeds (hello, like I had 3 hours a day to weed every day?) It’s funny how we can have a positive attitude in life with our comments, or we can point out the negative. I was just reading that if we replace our negative speech patterns with positive ones, that our joy will increase. I don’t know about you, but I will take more joy! :)

Back to the tomatoes. What mattered to me most with those delicious garden tomatoes, even with their imperfections, was that I used them in dish after dish for 11 years, serving our guests. Recipes like Tri Tip Crostini, Caprese Salad Skewers, Caprese Pita Cracker Bites, a Cheese Sandwich Bar, and Zucchini Corn Chili.

Caprese Salad you really don’t need a recipe for. It’s pretty basic. But … there is a secret ingredient, if you can find it in the store. DeLallo makes the best-ever balsamic glaze. I know that my friends who use it feel the same way. It’s almost like we are balsamic glaze junkies, but honestly, we’ve tried so many brands and there is nothing that compares to DeLallo’s flavor–the texture, rich and thick, and it makes the recipe … well, over-the-top.

Last week, even with store-bought tomatoes, our friends were generous with their compliments, and we did devour a whole plate of this Caprese Salad before dinner.

It’s the perfect appetizer or salad.

It’s great to bring to a party, and it’s also good enough to eat for a meal.

ENJOY!