Thursday, February 24, 2011

Caprese Salad

I mentioned some new toys that I have, one of them the camera, I look around at some of my friends posts and I see these beautiful pictures of their meals or cutting boards adorned with mouthwatering ingredients.  Mine well...

I do get a little jealous... My old camera was about done, once you are holding something like that together with duct tape and worrying every time that  you turn it on it is about time to look for a new one.   Luckily Kris got me the new camera for Christmas, another Kodak Easyshare but the NEW version, and with a whopping 15 megapixels I get the option of taking a step back and then cropping to the size that I want and maybe a little bit of play with Photoshop (or Photoshop's inexpensive cousin) to finish it off.

The picture above is one of those pictures, me trying to get one that I like, where the colors pop and it just looks good the one below is a more practical version of the same dish.  Along with our other activities on our anniversary weekend we had a "pot luck" at church on that Saturday night.  I threw together a couple of salads, this one is a Caprese Salad.  It isn't as elegant looking as the one above but it goes farther, isn't as fussy and it looks really good in its own way.

Big bowl of Caprese
2 Balls of fresh mozzarella cheese
2 Containers of grape tomatoes 
1/2 Cup pesto sauce 
5-6 Basil leaves cut in a chiffonade
Some shredded Mozzarella to garnish

Put your Mozzarella cheese in the freezer for about five minutes to firm it up a bit then chop into small bite sized pieces put those in a bowl.  Cut cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise add them to the same bowl then add the pesto sauce, I usually make my own but just bought some this time.  Toss them all together pour the salad into a fancy pants bowl (or one that you picked up from the dollar store) then add the fresh basil and the bit of mozzarella cheese to the top.  There you have it a bright refreshing salad that is just a little different.

7 comments:

  1. Mmm, looks yummy! This was a really good choice for a potluck dish.

    (as for Photoshop's less expensive cousins, I've had a lot of luck with Picasa, if you haven't tried it out yet)

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  2. I have been using Artweaver with a little success but will look at Picassa. I have heard good things about it.

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  3. I love the idea you have presented this salad, looks too good.

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  4. Delicious! My new camera is wonderful; however, I am still "the accidental photographer"!!

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  5. What a great way to serve a caprese salad to a crowd. Such pretty colors and photographs, my friend :-) Thank you for sharing such a tasty recipe with us. I hope you have a blessed weekend!

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  6. Ohh I love, love a caprese salad ad both of yours look delicious!

    I also bought a new camera last year and haven't looked back...I seem to remember you taking a photo of your duct taped old camera! Have loads of fun snapping

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  7. My favorite salad, Bryan! We had it last night.
    Good work with the camera. I have an old one, but use photoshop and Irfan (free) and can pretty much straighten everything out after fiddling around. However, lighting and a talent for food design are key. Wish I could take a course in that.

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