Insalata Caprese

With the last salad I posted being a little less than healthy, I decided to upload another salad that's a little better for the waist and heart. This is a lazy five minute meal with only three major ingredients and a bunch of optional ones.

That right all you'll need is:

-Tomatoes

-Fresh mozzarella cheese

-Extra virgin olive oil

Some optional things to have are:
-Basil
-Salt
-Pepper
-Balsamic vinegar

Because there are so few ingredients in this salad, make sure that each ingredient is the best you can get your hands on. Tomatoes from a farmer's market are generally better than the ones you'll find at a value food mart. Extra virgin olive oil will add flavor and richness to the salad (it's also better for you), so make sure you get what you can!

1. Start out by slicing your mozzarella into slices that are about as thick as crayon. It doesn't have to be precise though.

2. Then cut your tomatoes into slices that are about the same thickness.

3. Start with a slice of tomato then stack alternating layers of tomato and cheese in any configuration you desire. Today I opted for a heart and ate the scraps because wasting cheese is a terrible terrible sin.

4. Drizzle on the olive oil. Add the salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and basil if desired. (I actually used scallions for this one instead of basil.)














There you have it! Insalata Caprese in under five minutes!

My favorite salads.

I enjoy salads. And all of the salads I enjoy, there's one thing in common: eggs. It's either going to be in the dressing or one of the toppings. But today, I'm making a salad where egg is the star. I'm making egg salad!

For this you'll need:

8 eggs

2 tablespoons of mayo

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 of a medium onion, minced

Mustard powder to taste

Salt to taste

1. Place the eggs into a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil until the eggs are hard boiled. This should take about 10 minutes, however this time will vary depending on a lot of factors.

2. In the mean time, begin by mincing your onion.





Start off by peeling back the onion's skin.

Cut the onions into strips without separating it from the root.

Cut into small pieces.

3. Combine the minced onions, mustard powder, salt, and mayo.

4. When the eggs are done, move them to an ice bath and then peel them.

5. Mash the eggs and mix with the ingredients. I like to add coarsely ground pepper to my egg salad.

A fork works better for mashing than a spoon. A special egg slicer works better than either of those things, but I've decided to use a fork since not everyone has a special egg sliver device.

With the optional pepper added.

Now that you've got tasty egg salad, you can do anything with it. For today, I'm going to have to go with the sandwich option, with a big glob of ketchup: