This past Sunday was the type that every Sunday should be. Lazy from start to finish. Abundant sunshine and minimum heat. Out and about without ever leaving the neighborhood. Breakfast at home, Farmers' Market, picnic, the weekend paper, ice cream, slow walking. That kind of Sunday.
Basil from Jersey Farm Produce out of NJ
Tomatoes from Toigo Orchards out of PA
We headed to the Farmers' Market in the morning, letting what was available determine our shopping list. More on our complete haul in a later post, but upon seeing fresh basil and tomatoes, we decided to put into action our idea from last week and make a burrata salad for lunch. One container of basil, to be repotted in our kitchen window, and three on-the-vine tomatoes later, we headed down the street to Caputo's Fine Foods. We waited in a slow, but patient, line for fresh mozzarella (they were sold out of burrata, unfortunately) behind other customers picking up cheeses, meats, and breads. Since we were just about out of olive oil at home, we picked up a replacement at Caputo's, on a whim, giving us a chance to try something different. A very homemade looking bottle of oil with an unevenly placed sticker boasting Caputo's name and Puglia, the region in Italy this oil comes from, cost us a pretty penny due to 70% of this year's crop being ruined by beetles, we learned. We'll take it, this time, to support a local shop.
At home we sliced the tomato and milky mozzarella, washed the fresh basil and cut some of it into ribbons to release its natural oils, and prepared olive oil, aged balsamic, salt and pepper. Each ingredient was put into a small container to avoid a messy walk to the park.
Seltzer and the remaining splash of rhubarb strawberry syrup from last week's cocktail went into a mason jar along with sliced strawberries from Jersey Farm Produce at the morning's market.
Once at the fairly crowded park, we snagged a table just as someone was leaving. Prem assembled the salad on one plate for us to share from, I poured the drinks, adding some fresh squeezed lime juice, and we dug in. We enjoyed the weather and people watching, satisfied with our simple and refreshing Sunday picnic.