Summer Food series # 1 - Herby Tomato salad with pine nuts and cheese

Tomatoes, pine nuts and soft cheese

We are still in March and its scorchingly hot in Bombay. Just the day before, the temperature touched a record 41 C (almost 106 F). I was blaming global warming, just to be informed that the reason was not global but very much local . The Summer Food Series that I announced a couple of days ago has been my natural reaction to this unnatural heat in the city. These days, we are automatically inclined to eat raw, juicy fruits and vegetables. My fridge is full of oranges, limes, apples and my counters are strewn with tomatoes, a large watermelon and a couple of cantaloupes. But some of the tomatoes are sunning it out as per Anjali's instructions.

Standing in front of the gas stove is becoming quite a task and with super simple salads and raw foods, we intend to beat the heat to some extent.

Our nearly raw diet this week resulted in the discovery of some amazing salad combinations. Fruit-vegetable-spice, vegetable-nut-herb, and not try substituting your choice of fruits, veggies, nuts and herbs in those spaces and you will realise there are some million combinations if not more.

This is was super discovery which we loved so much that I made on two consecutive days. Besides, it is so simple that even your kid can assemble it.

Tomato salad with pine nuts and cheese
Category - Salads
Time taken - Under 10 minutes
Serves - 2

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ingredients
4 medium tomatoes - halved and each half cut into thirds
2 trianges of cheese - roughly pinched off ( I used Laughing Cow, Feta would be nice too)
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Freshly cracked black pepper
Salt to taste ( If using feta, go easy on the salt)
2 tbsp pine nuts- lightly roasted
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil ( optional)

directions
In a bowl, mix in all the ingredients except nuts. Chill for an hour or so. Garnish with toasted nuts just before serving.

serving suggestion
Spoon this salad between two slices of bread for a light, cold sandwich. I eat it just by itself.

BTW, today is STOP CYBERBULLYING DAY! So, I am not going to bully anyone to leave comments, its not like I have done it before....Hahaha

Tags: summer foods, tomatoes, salad, Saffron Trail, Recipe, Food, Indian food blog, Healthy eating, Healthy living, Mumbai, India