Grilled Caprese Tomatoes

I have more bug bites than I can even count. Every time I go outside to garden or grill or check the mail, one gets me! Now that we're having some cooler days, I'd really like to sit on the patio & read, but I'm not willing to get eaten even more.

All the bugs haven't curbed our grilling, though. It's summer & we're going to grill no matter what!

Mom gave us these tomatoes & as soon as she offered them to us, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them. It's simple & delicious.

I'm slowly warming up to tomatoes. I don't pick them out of my sandwiches anymore, but I still don't like to eat them raw. Even though this dish is mostly tomato, I love it! The juices start to carmelize in the tomato, giving it a delicious flavor. That flavor along with the basil & cheese makes for a perfect combination.

Soon I will share the recipe for the grilled butternut squash you see in the pics, but it's not quite there yet. We let the squash marinade over night in what should have been a delicious combination, but it just didn't go as well with the squash as I had hoped. I'm going to tweak it & then I'll share!

Our dinner on the patio. What you don't see: the bugs under the table eating our legs. Dinner for all!

Grilled Caprese Tomatoes

Serves 2-4

5 small, ripe tomatoes (a little bigger than golf ball sized)

10 fresh basil leaves

10 chunks (1/2"x1/4") of smoky cheddar or mozerella cheese

Slice tomatoes in half & remove the hard white part by the stem. Lay a basil leave on the cut side of the tomato. Top with a chunk of cheese. Grill for 5-8 minutes on the top shelf of a grill (medium to medium-high heat). Tomatoes are done when the bottom skin starts to shrivel up and the cheese is melted.

Dinner with my parents

We ate at my parents a last week & Mom made a delicious dinner for us! It's always nice to have dinner with them, especially in the summer. During the fall, winter & spring, we're always rushing because we eat with them on Thursdays before choir practice. This time of year, we can eat more leisurely & have then have coffee, dessert, & play a game.

It was a Grilled Caponata Salad with Grilled Flatbreads from Cooking Light magazine. She made a few alterations based on what she had around - no capers or green olives, jalapeno peppers instead of bell (They gave it a nice kick!) & feta cheese instead of mozerella.

She also used her own dough, which is a combo of semolina & whole wheat flours. Dad gets credit, too, for his great grilling!

We loved it! Thanks for all the time you spent prepping!

Headstand Update

In light of an article I recently came across, 10 Reasons to Do a Headstand Every Day, I thought I should update you on my goal to do a headstand from a few months ago.

Some days I can move into a headstand without any help from the wall. Other days, I need that little tap with my toe to kick into position. I'm not quite comfortable moving into one without the wall yet, but I'm almost there. Once I'm in position, though, I can hold it for over a minute with no help! I'm working up to longer & think that physically I could hold it. It's the mental part that's slacking. I get bored, or worried that I might fall down soon, or just over think the balance.

I love the way I feel after I've done a headstand, so I've been trying to continue to practice every day. There have been a few days where it made my head pound, so I just stopped & tried again the next day. I'm hoping to soon not need my safety net & be able to move away from the wall.
I've also been having fun practicing different leg positions. This one is my favorite!

Check out the article on headstand! Maybe it'll motivate you to try it out! (They're fun, I promise!)