Summer Salad

You're invited to a BBQ and you don't want to bring the traditional salads. This salad is refreshing and delicious. It can be served iced cold or at room temperature.

We live in New Jersey and Summertime means farmer's markets and fresh produce. I love gardening and grow all my own herbs and tomatoes in my backyard. Nothing like using fresh basil from your garden in a salad or to make pesto. My parsley grows until the first frost, which tends to be mid to late October in our area.

This salad has tricolor cherry tomatoes, but you can use any tomato that is ripe. Fresh Jersey corn adds a sweetness but any fresh corn on the cob can be used. I boil the corn for 10 minutes, allow it to cool, then cut it off the cob. The corn is "par cooked" and still has snap when you bite into it. You can also use raw corn, but I prefer a par boil. Make this salad your own, what every your prefer.

Tomatoes are the major dietary source of the antioxidant lycopene, which has been linked to many health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease and cancer. They are also a great source of vitamin C, potassium, folate, and vitamin K.

Let's get cooking, you'll need:

2 cups of tricolor cherry tomatoes (cut in half)

1 clove of smashed and chopped garlic

1 cup of chopped mozzarella

4 corn on the cob (cut off the cob)

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

5 large basil leaves Chiffonade (cut like ribbons)

In a large bowl, cut the tomatoes and set aside. Take the corn off the cob and break into small individual pieces. Smash and cut the garlic into small pieces and add to the bowl.

By now, you've realized this is a one bowl type of salad. Put everything in one bowl, stir and refrigerate until you're ready to go.

This year was an amazing year for basil in my garden. The leaves are the size of my hand and are easy to chiffonade into ribbons. To chiffonade, roll the basil leaves like you would a cigar. The tighter you rolls them the easier it is to cut them into ribbons. Cut on an angle, thin slices. Separate them into ribbons.

This sounds fancy but trust me, this is an easy salad to put together and makes a beautiful presentation. It's our secret that it was made in one bowl and extremely easy to do!

Take the block of mozzarella, (I use Sargento Mozzarella) and cut into small cubes. Sargento Mozzarella doesn't have a lot of moisture and holds up well in this salad. Cut the mozzarella the same size as the cherry tomatoes. This makes everything in the salad the same size and easy to eat. Yes, that's my goal, make things that I can get in my mouth easy and fast!!

Drizzle the olive oil and vinegar over the salad and toss well. Season with salt and pepper. It's important that you taste your salad to see if it needs more vinegar, salt or pepper. Now is the time to adjust to your taste buds.

Top the salad with a basil leave or the top of a basil plant. I call this my basil bouquet and it adds a beautiful aroma when you unwrap the salad.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you're ready to use.

Enjoy!