I live in the South, and one of the many joys of summer is fresh tomatoes. Some of my earliest memories are of my Grandmother harvesting a tomato crop so large that we ate them at every meal. She still had enough left over at the end of summer to can as stewed tomatoes or use in her incredible vegetable soup to last all winter.
I remember that even as delicious as they were fresh, everyone still passed the salt shaker around to make them taste even better. Salt, as it turns out, intensifies the taste of a Tomato, something my pallet had become accustom to.
As I began to learn to live without my “three teaspoon of salt a day” (see last posting) I looked at the foods I used the most salt on...and anything with tomatoes quickly became my focus. I tried going cold turkey, and just use pepper, but I could not get satisfied, until I discovered Basil...A Tomatoes Best Friend!
It didn't take me long to learn that using a little basil ,olive oil and pepper in or on anything with tomatoes taste fantastic , all without adding any salt. Here are a few ideas that I use:
- An hour before dinner, cut your tomatoes and marinate them in a small dish with Olive Oil, Balsamic , Basil and a dash of pepper, then mix them into your salad or eat by themselves.
- Slice tomatoes and fresh mozzarella and layer each other with Fresh basil [or sprinkle a good Sweet Basil] and drizzle with Olive Oil , Balsamic and a dash of Pepper for a wonderful Caprese Salad.
- Have you tried making Bruschetta? Its easy. Dice Tomatoes, and mix with fresh garlic, basil olive oil and balsamic to make this fantastic appetizer. Just toast sliced baguette French bread top with the Brushetta mix and top with grated parm cheese.
Just experiment and you will find hundreds of uses for basil and you will soon learn why it is one of the most popular herbs in the world.
Remember...The more seasonings, herbs and spices you use in you meals, chances are the healthier you will be eating.
SpiceMan
