A Day Late and A Dollar Short

It appears that I am a day late and a dollar short. A whirlwind weekend followed by a manic Monday wiped my personal clock. Out of time. Speaking of, I see that the HBO series Flight of the Conchords might be written into a film. My siblings I were besotted with this show. In fact, as I type, I can hear my sister saying: Jemaine. Hoorah for new material. In other peripheral news, I would like to thank a pair of friends who recreated some dishes this past weekend. I understand that someone greatly enjoyed my Potato and Arugula Salad. Another friend found inspiration in the form of Peach and Corn Salsa. Bon appetit and Mazel tov! Once again, I am guilty of digression. This Saturday and Sunday were all about #CLTPride in the Queen City. We kicked Saturday morning off with hot drinks at our favorite spot in the city, Not Just Coffee at Atherton Mill. If you like coffee, go there immediately. I highly recommend their Americano and ditto the Caramel Latte. The pour overs are the jam too. A very cool junction and you are supporting local. I have taken to swinging by here after yoga during the week. It is a nice time of day to be out and about. To go with our coffees, we bought a sugary lemon bar from a local stand that left us quite literally, puckering with delight. My mother's lemon bars are the business. I really should buckle down and make them one of these soon days.

After enjoying our continental breakfast, smiling at babies in carriages and petting excited dogs, we had a shmy around to pick up some local produce. I bought more sungolds, goat milk's soft cheese and an artisan baguette. From here, I sat idle enjoying a five minute massage. I would have paid for more time but listening to a gentleman regale eager youngsters with stories as he created flying mice out of balloons was enough to launch me into orbit. From here, we ventured uptown to partake in the action, excitement and halcyon times. Our first stop was 5Church for drinks at the bar. If you have not yet been here, perhaps introduce yourself to the 21st century and then head over. Be sure to look up at the book printed on the ceiling. A buzzy scene with an inviting marble bar. Pull up a chair, engage with your neighbors and stay a while. From here, we took to the streets. We stopped and chatted with folks, paused for photographs and enjoyed the glorious day. What more can be said than quite simply #lovewins. After participating in the street scene and the associated livery we headed over to Cowbell for a late lunch of burgers. It was a nice reprieve from the crowds and animation on Tryon Street. The service here is truly outstanding and ditto the comprehensive beer selection. The remainder of the evening was low key save for a spectacular thunderstorm enjoyed on the 35th floor, overlooking the city. By the way, for those interested, Matthew's uber cool shirt can be yours by visiting 704shop #QueenCity

We were up early on Sunday to do a bit of this and a pinch of that. Around noon time, we continued in our usual tradition and went to Old Mecklenburg Brewery Bierhaus for two rounds of ice cold beers that we enjoyed on the benches. I think Matthew would have adapted quite nicely had he been in Germany at the same time as me. We ordered lunch this go around, a first. We shared the bratwurst (I would have preferred it grilled a bit longer), savory cold German potato salad and sauerkraut. The grub paired gloriously with the cold beers. After our largely European lunch, I decided a low key supper was in the cards and so I defaulted to my go to, especially this time of year when tomatoes are available in all shapes, colors and varieties. I prepared a Caprese salad. Translation: Salad from Capri. My peers and I went to town on this elegant little island for approximately six consecutive weekends back when we were studying abroad. What happens on the island of Capri, stays in Capri. I insert this for the sake of our parents. This salad is quite simply one of the most basic, gorgeous and equally flavorful dishes you can literally throw together in minutes. You can also get creative and switch out the tomatoes for peaches or watermelon, the mozzarella for buratta or feta, the basil for mint. You get the picture.

Tomatoes are abundant right about now and there are a zillion ways to employ them. Slice and salt for an easy, nearly no calorie snack. Stuff between two pieces of toast along with crispy bacon and tangy mayo for a good old fashioned BLT. You can find recipes for tomato pie, tomato tart, tomato jam, tomato sauce and lest we not forget fresh salsa. The latter of which is very convenient to enjoy now that we are spending so much time outdoors. Correction, we Charlotteans are spending ample time indoors a cause of the heat but you know what I mean. You can juice them or transform them into paste. Gazpacho, fried green tomatoes, pizza sauce, pasta sauce, bruschetta, stuffed tomatoes, dried tomatoes and pickled tomatoes. How about a mushroom and tomato dahl? The quintessential Meatless Monday supper idea. You get the picture. Whatever you do, pick up a punnet or pound at your local market, buy a ball of the best looking mozzarella you can find, carefully choose a hard baguette, grab a handful of bright green basil, lest we not forget the olive oil as well as kosher salt (and pepper, always finish a dish with pepper) and go to town.

Salada Caprese

Ingredients

Punnet of tomatoes, bag of tomatoes - quite simply, you need tomatoes of any and all colors

Handful of fresh basil

Mozzarella - torn into pieces, never cut

A glug of good quality olive oil

Kosher salt

Fresh black pepper

Baguette

*Optional, you can serve this with any type of meat. As we were having a low key supper, to satisfy my local omnivore I served this alongside sliced prosciutto. Salami would be lovely too.

Instruction

1. Chop up your tomatoes and arrange on a plate. No rhyme or reason needed here. For babies, I half them and for the larger variety I haphazardly cut in chunks. With your hands, carefully tear the basil and throw it on top. I always tear my mozzarella, I never cut it. Into the mix it goes. Drizzle with a generous glug of good quality olive oil. Finish off with a generous pinch or two of kosher salt and a couple of cracks of black pepper. You can let this sit for a bit so the juices begin to collect on the plate. Perfect for wiping up with bread. Voila. Note, if you want a different taste, you can roast or grill the tomatoes before employing as outlined above.

*Contrary to popular belief - owing to the acidity of the tomatoes - there is absolutely no need for any type of vinegar on a Salada Caprese.