Random Deliciousness
Recipes and Other Yummy Discoveries
The best thing about summer? Summer vacation, of course! Second best? Maybe tomatoes.
You can use tomatoes to make great back-to-school sandwiches. It's like a little piece of summer coming with you to school each day to help you remember all your summer fun. A taste of summer sunshine in every bite.
Taste Test
Tomatoes come in many sizes and colors. They look great and they taste even better. See if you can find some really interesting tomatoes at the grocery store. Have a taste-test: can you taste the difference among types of tomatoes?
Make Your Own!
Here's how to make your own Tomato-Palooza sandwich (like in the picture):
Lightly toast two slices of bread, then brush each toasted slice with olive oil (toasting the bread helps so it won't get soggy before lunchtime).
Slice fresh mozzarella cheese into thin rounds and lay them onto one toasted bread slice.
Slice tomatoes into rounds and use your fingers to remove the juicy, pulpy seeds. (Again, this helps so it won't get soggy before lunch. If you are eating your sandwich right away, leave the juicy seeds in - they add flavor!)
Lay the sliced tomatoes on one toasted slice of bread. Sprinkle them lightly with sea salt (also called "fleur de sel" - it's milder than regular table salt) if you have it. If not, you can very lightly sprinkle them with table salt. (Salt is a flavor enhancer - just the right amount brings out flavor and helps things taste more like themselves.) If you don't use too much, this will help your tomatoes pop with lots of juicy tomato flavor.
Lay basil leaves on top of the tomatoes.
Add more thin-sliced fresh mozzarella on top, and top with the other toasted bread slice. Cut your sandwich in two (makes it easier to eat) and slip it into your lunchbox. At lunchtime, you'll have a little taste of summer sunshine in every bite.
Yum!
Prevent soggy sandwiches!
Use toasted bread
Remove seeds and pulp from tomatoes
Don't put the tomatoes right next to the bread - put something like cheese, meat or lettuce against the bread to protect it from the juicy tomatoes
Here are some other ideas:
Bacon, lettuce and tomatoes - that makes it a B.L.T.!
Avocado slices, bacon, baby spinach leaves and tomatoes
Fresh ricotta cheese, basil and tomatoes
Roast beef, Monterrey Jack cheese, arugula and tomatoes