From Roger’s Garden

 

Basil & Tomato Salad

Roger’s vegetable garden on the south side of the house, just up the hill from the Beverly Design Center,  and down the hill from the Sunset Strip, had a grape vine, fresh tomatoes, Serrano chili pepper, red chili peppers, basil, rosemary and mint. Below the vegetables were rose bushes and day lily’s. It was private yet just feet from Santa Monica and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. On one of the many days I stayed there when he and his husband were in Fiji, Puerto Rico, Brazil or some other tropical destination, I would make dinner from the garden.

Ingredients:

4-6 Vine Ripe Tomatoes

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Balsamic Vinegar

1/3 cup Fresh Basil chopped

Directions:

Chop the tomatoes into relatively small chunks.  Add the basil. Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil over mixture and then sea salt to taste.  I also like black pepper although I sometimes added minced fresh pepper from the garden, even some mint.

Or for a Caprese Salad, slice them and layer with circle slices of soft mozzarella cheese and whole basil leaves. Drizzle with Balslmaic vinaigrette. Roger always had some really good expensive Balslmaic. Lucky Me.

Images from Google Images except for Roger.