The heat is here in Texas along with mosquitoes. They are so thick that I think that one day I might see one of them take off with our cat. There is no amount of MosquitoNix or OFF! that will deter them from pouncing and sucking so we are left to either walking around consistently to keep them from landing or staying inside. Last night, as my kids swam in the neighbors pool, I literally walked around their outdoor dining table 500 times while reading a book to keep them from sucking me dry. And, for those that know me well, that does not settle well with my easily, get queasy, stomach. But, a mother will do what she has to do in order to keep her children entertained and her husband on the couch. In case you haven't taken the time to notice, peaches are in abundance due to our mild winter and tomatoes are ripening as we speak. Lucky for us, those are one of many amazing factors of summer that keep us plugging along and temporarily takes my mind off the persistent itch from wherever the mosquito has bitten me. Mixing tomatoes and peaches together with mozzarella (only from the Mozzarella Company in Dallas, http://www.mozzco.com/ ) and homemade pesto will not only take you out of the heat, if only temporary, and send you to that " I Can't Believe it's Not Butter" setting with Fabio. Or, in my case, George Clooney. But then again, Fabio is better than a hoard of mosquitoes chasing you around a table.
Ingredients
4 homegrown tomatoes, sliced (not all the way through) in 4ths
1 pound fresh tomatoes
4 peaches, seeded and diced
1 tbs white wine vinegar
1 tbs fresh lavender or basil, finely chopped
Really good olive oil for drizzling
Sea Salt and fresh ground pepper
Pre-made Pesto or Homemade (optional)
Directions
(The pic above shows how I displayed for my last Backyard Dinner, but you can prepare how you like)
Set tomatoes on plate, already sliced as specified. Slice the mozzarella, about 1/4 inch thick, and slide in between each cut on the tomato. Mix peaches with vinegar and herb of your choice. Drizzle olive oil over tomato and season both tomato and peaches with salt and pepper. Add pesto to the side.
